The Space Beyond
by CapnAhab
Summary: After the first Lylat war the Cornerian government was contacted by humans, who have secretly settled in some of the nearby systems.  The story picks up after the "Star Wolf Returns" events of Star Fox Command and borrows concepts from many scifi sources.
1. Chapter 1

**Starfox: The Space Beyond**

**Prologue**

The Human Systems Federation (HSF) is comprised of roughly 450 star systems spread across the galaxy. Though still isolated in one arm of the Milky Way, they have expanded rapidly since the development of practical space travel. Their technology is slightly more advanced than even the best Cornerian prototypes, with superior armor, weapon, and propulsion systems. At the heart of the HSFs technology is the jump drive, a device that allows a ship to bring any two points in the galaxy to within a few kilometers of each other, allowing it to move itself and any accompanying vessels large distances with ease. Jumps of 20 to 40 light years are not uncommon for medium sized warships and trade ships with some of the larger battleships and carriers able to jump hundreds of light years if necessary. Fighters and short range inter system craft do not have jump drives, though all ships have a short range, high speed warp drive that allows them to travel within a star system. The HSF guards their jump drive technology zealously with no ship being permitted to be captured with a jump drive intact.

The humans themselves are slightly taller and thinner than the average Cornerian and have a higher muscle and bone density, this gives them a frightening amount of strength for their size, a well trained human can best 2 or 3 Cornerians in hand to hand combat. They can be injured or killed with heavy weapons and lasers but, due to their advanced personal body armor, the average blaster sidearm doesn't have much of an effect. Thankfully, humans are rarely seen except on patrol outside the Lylat system and never planet side, an agreement with the Cornerian government forbids their ships from entering the system and prevents the humans themselves from touching down on any planet in Lylat. The Far Reaches Pact, as it's called, has kept their presence in the surrounding star systems largely unknown.

When the HSF first made its appearance in the Lylat system about 5 years after the First Lylat War, it did so by sending a series of encoded messages to Cornerian military ships operating on the edge of the system. Eventually, the Cornerian government answered and a diplomatic exchange was permitted on the outskirts of the Lylat system on board the human exploration vessel _Particle Horizon_. Human interest in Lylat came from the system's wide variety of habitable worlds and unusual star and red dwarf binary configuration as well as the number of brown dwarfs and dwarf stars that were in close proximity to the system itself. The humans stated their intentions to settle and colonize a handful of the neighboring star systems, not knowing the Cornerians themselves had only limited access to their region of space. It was standard HSF policy to contact any space-faring population found in a region prior to colonization to avoid a future conflict, species that rejected their request were given a 50 light year buffer zone around their home system and left alone.

The Cornerian government, not wanting to look weak or inferior to the HSF, granted permits to colonize 4 systems inside the 50 light year boundary, 2 of which were unreachable by their own ships. The remaining two were nearby but infested with pirate and outlaw colonies and were so far out of control the Cornerians did not have the resources or manpower to deal with them effectively. The humans named the 2 outlying systems Lylat Gamma and Lylat Delta, and the 2 nearby systems Lylat Alpha and Lylat Beta, humans operating in these systems typically drop Lylat from the name. These four systems are the only place in the Lylat region human ships are permitted to operate and any incursions into the restricted area around Lylat itself are delt with harshly. Most of the ships operating in the region are HSF military, so incursions into the Lylat restriction zone are few and far between, HSF civilian ships are not permitted to enter the region due to its instability. Each planet, 45 in all, was given a number representing it's position in orbit around the parent star. Gamma and Delta were barren systems filled mostly with gas giants, though a few habitable moons and large asteroids supported colonies. Alpha was rich in raw materials and had several habitable worlds and moons and received the bulk of the HSF's attention. Beta was equally rich in minerals but difficult to reach because HSF ships had to sidestep the Lylat system to get there, as a result, Beta was a breeding ground for smuggling and corruption from both species.

It took almost 2 years for the HSF to stabilize the Alpha system and begin to colonize, building mining colonies on Alpha II and VII, and farming colonies on Alpha III. The pirate factions that until that point had free run of the territory, were outraged and began pulling their resources together to drive the HSF from the system. An armada of 375 pirate and mercenary warships and hundreds of fighters descended on the colonies of Alpha III and blockaded the planet. Some of Lylat's best mercenary pilots led the charge into the human controlled colonies, easily routing the defense forces. The HSF's regional patrols were few in number and powerless to stop them. The pirates razed the colonies, making off with much of the humans advanced technology and killing the colonists wherever they could find them. Being a farming colony, Alpha III did not have a large weapons stockpile and most of what the pirates had taken was harvesting and terraforming equipment. The HSF did not plan on encountering a full scale armada and was slow to respond. On the 80th day of the occupation, the HSF launched a counterattack bringing some if it's most powerful warships through a jump portal near the Alpha system's star. They came at the pirate fleet from every direction, crushing the blockade and decimating the pirate ships, their energy shields useless against the HSF's powerful mass accelerator weapons. Only 40 ships from the pirate armada escaped destruction and the HSF cemented it's reputation as the region's most powerful adversary.

The Cornerian government had placed observers in Alpha at the time the hostilities began and was shocked with the speed and efficiency the HSF was able to eliminate the pirate threat. Their fighters were more than a match for anything in the pirate fleets, faster and better armed they tore into their opponents, few pirate fighters managed to escape the battle. The larger HSF ships, some up to 10 kilometers in length, pounded the pirate fleet with their heavy guns, often shearing their ships to pieces in a single salvo. The battle lasted several hours with observers on the surface of Alpha III reporting fighting so intense above them the entire sky was alight. Burning fragments of metal rained down on the planet for weeks after the battle. While the fighting in space was grand and dramatic, the ground battle for Alpha III's colonies was completely different. The pirate raiders having killed or captured most of the human population, pressed the Cornerians that lived among the humans to fight for them. The HSF sent in elite commando units called CSUs (Core Strike Units) into the colonies to eliminate the pirates and free the civilians. They did so with ruthless efficiency, liberating the planet in just 45 days without a single shot fired from orbit.

CSUs are well trained, well equipped operatives that act in the interest of the Human systems Federation. They are the best fighting units the HSF can produce. Far removed from the trigger happy commando stereotype, CSUs are resourceful, intelligent, and above all else adaptable to any situation they may encounter. The exact number of CSUs is classified and they are given a cover occupation within the military to mask their activities. The term unit is misleading since the CSUs often work alone. They are given a great deal of operational freedom and as a result can get in, hit a target and get out without being detected. They excel at keeping civilian casualties and infrastructure damage to a minimum as well as avoiding the heavy urban combat that can grind a conventional war to a stalemate. After the pirate uprising many of the CSUs remained in the new systems serving as the HSF's eyes and ears in the surrounding space and stamping out any criminal elements that manifest themselves. Rumors exist of CSUs hiding out on the outskirts of Lylat itself looking for smugglers and pirate warlords that would rather take their chances with the Cornerian Defense Force than deal with the HSFs warships.

Though physically different, the merger of the 2 cultures went smoothly as the Cornerians found common ground with their human counterparts. Infighting and violence between human races had largely been eliminated, as humans had been colonizing and merging with other species among the stars for several centuries. As a result, a high degree of tolerance for other species existed in the HSF. Cornerians living in the HSF colonies are treated well and given the same protection a human has under HSF law. They are, however, restricted from returning to the Lylat system as part of the Far Reaches Pact, this law takes effect as soon as they enter an HSF colony. Many Cornerians in HSF space trade raw materials with merchants inside the home system, leaving their human benefactors largely unseen. The Cornerians that trade for the HSF are not permitted to discuss who they work for other than saying it was an outside organization based beyond the home system. This helped the Cornerian government keep the size and scope of the human colonization hidden from the general population. Only a handful of high level Cornerian military personnel and government officials know about the humans and any ship that sights a human vessel is ordered to disavow unless engaged.

The HSF was largely unseen during the Aparoid Invasion, they did repel the Aparoids in their own systems and committed a large amount of resources toward rebuilding Corneria. Parts of the Cornerian government believe the HSF may have led the Aparoids to Lylat by forcing them seek an easier target for conquest. HSF command found this statement insulting, stating that human warships were at the ready and the CDF could have called on them at any time. During the Anglar Blitz, the HSF offered to aid the besieged Cornerians but again the government refused. During the Blitz, the HSF housed many refugees in safe zones outside the Lylat system, often in their massive carriers to circumvent the Far Reaches Pact. At this point the Cornerian government thought the HSF and it's colonies had been exposed, and the devastation from the Aparoids and the Anglars left the it unable to function as it once did. They feared they would soon be forced to come clean about the HSF.

The Cornerian government pleaded with the HSF from its temporary location on the Beltino Orbital Gate. They needed their aid but did not want another alien fleet over their skies for fear of panicking the surviving population. Despite the great deal of suffering on the surface of Corneria, the HSF honored their request and sent as much aid as their Lylat proxies could carry. The refugees were permitted to return, though the government insisted they go through a screening process to determine how much information was compromised while they were on the HSF carriers. To their surprise, the HSF had been training Cornerians to operate on their ships and none of the refugees reported seeing anything "strange" walking around during their stay. The refugees were told the HSF ships were simply large stations seized during the previous conflicts, though many wondered why the chairs on board these massive ships didn't have open backs to accommodate tails.

Currently, the Cornerian government is a crippled shell of it's former self, it cannot safeguard ships passing into and out of it's boundaries and many of the planets with small populations are at the mercy of local gangs. The HSF sponsored aid ships are disappearing at an alarming rate and the Cornerian government will not permit them to travel with an HSF escort inside the Lylat system. As a result, the rebuilding of Corneria has been slow with many projects at a standstill due to lack of raw materials. The HSF is getting restless over the disappearing traders and is contemplating pulling it's aid ships from their routes. Corneria is in danger of losing it's largest source of construction materials and supplies, as well as it's only source of goods like clothing, packaged food, and medical supplies.

**Part 1**

"Unbelievable," Krystal thought as she dropped down to her knees and stared at the floor her hands over her head. A cold blaster pressed firmly on the back of her head.

"He set me up, he knew I was here the whole time." she thought. This was how she was going out, 10 billion miles from home, alone, shot kneeling like a coward. Her target, a Dr. Horace Issen was a former member of Andross army and suspected of smuggling what might have been the only surviving toxin on Venom out of Lylat and into the pirate territories. She was contracted to stop him and bring his cargo back, it should have been a simple job, a few days travel to a distant uncharted star system, get the toxin, and get back. It didn't turn out that way, this wasn't the cobbled together rugged outpost she was told it would be. The concrete reinforced structure was two levels above ground at at least twice that many below with docking facilities and a large research laboratory. This place had been here a long time, it was probably one of the outposts built by Andross to hide his experiments from the Cornerians and abandoned later when he moved to Venom.

Something was wrong with this job, her contact had always been spot on with his information, for some reason, he didn't know about all this. Finding a decent contact was difficult to say the least, she'd been working as a bounty hunter under the name Kursed for a number of years but without the backing of the Cornerian government work was slow. There was plenty of scum in Lylat but she'd only get a job when one bad guy wanted another taken care of and the work was distasteful, even Wolf wouldn't have taken some of these jobs. One dead bad guy was always better than two live ones she kept telling herself, not that anyone would ever know it was her doing the work, or even care. She had a falling out with the Cornerian public and it was all she could do to survive anymore. The longer she spent living the bounty hunter's life, the more she regretted what happened to Star Fox, what she did to Fox. Not that it mattered, so much time had passed, no one remembers her now. It's better that way.

"So who sent you? CDF? Andross? Tell me!" The Doctor barked pressing his blaster into her head. Krystal just stared at the floor, for the first time in a long time, a tear dropped from her eye. Maybe there was hope, maybe they would forgive. Doesn't matter now, just shut up and get it over with.

"How many more are there?" Again the Doctor screamed. "I don't have time for you to sit there and think about it!" There was a hum as the blaster powered up.

"High setting, this is going to be messy." she thought.

"Last chance, talk or die."

"I don't know." she muttered, "They will keep coming until the money runs out, or you do."

"Not the answer I was looking for, maybe the next one will be more cooperative." another hum from the blaster. Any higher and they'd both be painting the walls. There was a rumble in the floor, one of the hydraulic doors had opened, then shut again. Krystal could feel the the Doctor's weight shifting, he was looking around. The large room they were in was a maze full of stacked cargo crates and it was impossible to see from one side to the other. The Doctor's breathing became heavy and erratic, there were muffled footsteps from behind a stack of crates, someone else was in the room.

"Who's there, I have a hostage! Show yourself or I'll splatter her head all over this room!" again the blaster pressed to her head. "Up! Up now! We're leaving!" He grabbed her hair and pulled Krystal to her feet, she could feel Issen's body shaking as he wrapped his arm around her neck and began walking toward the nearest door, dragging her along and using her body to shield himself. He reached the door and turned his attention to it's control panel, a shot came right after. It didn't sound like a blaster, just a loud crack and the sound of a projectile hitting flesh, she was still alive. Issen's blaster clattered as it hit the floor, still humming and ready to fire. The Doctor released his grip on her neck and fell to her side, landing on his shoulder before rolling onto his back. There was a wound in the side of his head, he gurgled and twitched then fell silent. Krystal dropped to the ground, the room started to spin, the nausea was overpowering. Too close this time, it's not over though. There were footsteps, a series of heavy thumps echoed through the room, someone was coming up beside her.

"You alright Blue?" a voice said. "Let me help you up." A black gloved hand appeared out of the corner of her eye. "He's here to help." She started thinking. How embarrassing, having to be rescued and found sick to her stomach and on her hands and knees, she was better than that. She went to smack the hand away, it drifted off to her right.

"You're a long way from Lylat." The voice said. "Can you walk? What's your name?"

"I'm fine." Krystal said as she stumbled to her feet. "He was my bounty, who do you think you are?" she turned around swinging her fist as she turned. A hand caught it, and held it with an almost crushing grip, then released. She stepped back, rubbing her hand and looked up at her rescuer. The stranger was tall, Krystal's head was almost even with his shoulder. He didn't look like anything she had seen in her travels, he had no tail or fur, just pink skin and short, crew cut brown hair on his head. His flight suit was colored black and dark blue, there weren't any markings on it. It looked like it doubled as a kind of personal body armor with rigid plates held together by some kind of fabric, he didn't have a helmet. There was a weapon on his hip and what looked to be another on his back. He had to be some kind of commando or a very well equipped mercenary. She had heard the rumors of a species settled outside Lylat. Pirates and smugglers telling fearful stories of whole fleets of ships disappearing as soon as they left the system. She remembered Wolf having mentioned something about an unknown species causing problems outside Lylat as well, but she never could trust him. The stranger spoke.

"I saved your life, that should be worth something. Your bounty hunting days could have ended here, lose the attitude or they still might." his voice was calm and stern.

"My life is worth nothing. I had this under control, he was MY bounty."

"Had it under control?" the stranger mocked her. "Other than die, what did you plan to do? From the time you landed he knew you were here, you didn't do a very good job of sneaking in. As for your bounty, there he is, take him if you want him. I did what I came here to do."

"And what was that?"

"Kill or capture the Issen, rescue any hostages, destroy the facility."

"What hostages? I wasn't told anything about hostages. How did you know I was here?"

"Yes, hostages. There were several dozen of them on the floors below, all Cornerian civilians taken from aid ships that were hijacked in Lylat. We're lucky Issen didn't kill them off after you were detected. When you landed on the pad outside, every alarm in this place went off. I had to wait until you were captured before I could get them out. When he finally caught you I was able to get moving again. I was lucky to find you, one of the guards told me the Doctor had a hostage with him or you'd both still be down here. I've planted bombs throughout the facility and the hostages have been lifted out. We just need to get out of here so I can detonate the bombs."

"Bombs? You're going to blow this place up?" she asked.

"This is a human controlled system, this place isn't supposed to be here, and in a few minutes, it won't be."

"I need to get the sample he took from Venom, you're not doing anything until I get it."

"You mean this one?" he pulled out a small vile of glowing green liquid. "Nasty stuff, they were testing it a few levels below us, on the prisoners they kept in the labs below. I'm afraid you're not really in a position to tell me what I will and will not be doing."

"That's what I'm looking for, give it to me now!" Krystal pulled her blaster and waved it in the air, the human followed it with his eyes, but otherwise didn't react. She looked at her blaster and back to the human who was now watching her, his stare made her nervous. Drawing her weapon suddenly didn't seem like such a good idea. She brought the blaster down to her side and hesitated, then began to raise it toward the human. He drew his weapon and fired, she flinched at the sound. He didn't hit her, she couldn't believe he missed her standing out in the open just 2 meters away. She pulled her blaster up, it was spitting smoke and sparks, the lights on it faded out, nothing. It had been shot straight through the power cells, a near perfect hole all the way through. She looked at the human, gun still drawn. His dark eyes emotionless, like in a trance. He paused.

"Next time I'll aim for the head, most people don't get a 2nd chance. I'm giving you 3. We need to go now, we can talk about the sample when we're outside the blast radius. My ship is this way." He began walking toward the door.

"I'm not going anywhere with you, I have my own ship, and it's this way."

"Not anymore it isn't. They blew it up right after you were captured."

"I don't believe you. You're working for them for all I know."

"That's why I killed a dozen people to get down here to you." the human said sarcastically. "You don't have a clue what went on here."

"Who are you anyway?" Krystal ask him.

"Orion." the human said.

"You? Orion? You're wanted in Lylat, just about every smuggler and pirate in Lylat wants you dead." Krystal's eyes opened wide, she looked at the Doctor's weapon still laying on the ground then back to the human, "Quite a large bounty if I remember right."

"Care to try and collect?" he tapped the weapon in his hip.

"I've got to make a living somehow." She smiled, looking at the weapon on the floor again.

"Dying's not a good way to make a living, Blue." He shook his head, eying the blaster on the floor. "I don't have time for this and since you're obviously not a civilian, I don't have to take you out of here."

"You're going to just leave me down here?"

"That's up to you, you'll never clear the blast on foot." he looked around, "If you want to get off this planet, you need to decide if the bounty on my head is worth your life. If it isn't, I might as well just leave you here, and if you try to collect it, I will kill you."

"Fine, you take me off this rock and I won't turn you in today." Krystal gritted her teeth and put out her hand, the human reached out and shook it with a firm, almost painful grip.

"Very well, I'll bring my ship around to the landing pad and pick you and your ship up. I should be able pull it, maybe not out of the atmosphere but away from the blast."

"Yeah, you do that." Idiot creature, were they all this naive she thought. Krystal began running back out to the landing pad. The human wasn't lying about killing the guards to get down to her. Their bodies were scattered along the corridor, some twisted in horrible ways, most never had the chance to fire their weapons. She made it to the entrance of the facility and outside was the wreckage of her ship. It looked like they detonated one of the smartbombs on board, most of the outer hull was charred, none of the electronics responded, and the right wing was hanging on by just a few structural braces. There was a rumbling in the distance as another ship approached. Nearly twice the size of her own, rusted and battle scarred the ship hovered overhead, a voice echoed from it.

"Last chance, 2 minutes." A small ladder extended from the cockpit in the center of the ship, flanked on either side by massive engines, a group of small fins and jets along it's hull adjusted constantly trying to keep the ship in one place, the whine of the turbines was deafening and the pulsing thrusters made her ears pop. She put one hand on the ladder and started to climb, it moved and began retracting toward the ship. There was a low hum and the sound of grinding metal as her ship was winched up by an unseen beam toward the belly of the ship, she climbed inside, the door sealing behind her.

"Not as heavy as I thought, we should be able to get out of the atmosphere as is." The human said. The ship rumbled and began it's climb, there was no sensation of movement, just a gradually darkening sky. There was a bright flash and a shudder, he detonated the bombs. Krystal was nervous, she wasn't sure the human could be trusted and she had no idea where she was or where he was taking her. The information she had been given about her destination was wrong, nothing was making sense, this was supposed to be an empty region of space. Krystal decided to wait and see where she was being taken, she didn't have much of a choice at this point, after seeing the guards on her way out of the facility, she had no doubt the human would follow through on his promise to kill her. The fact that she was a bounty hunter didn't mean anything to him, either he didn't know or he didn't care who she was, he had to let his guard down sometime.

Krystal looked around the ship's interior, it was a complete contrast to the human's clean and polished appearance. There were missing panels and exposed wiring everywhere, some of the consoles flickered or didn't work at all. The entire surface of the ship seemed rusty and charred, even the interior panels were weathered and beaten. There were no markings of any kind to identify the ship or the people the human worked for.

"What happened to the other civilians?" Krystal found herself wondering.

"They got out right before I went back for you, they escaped in one of the transports docked on the surface. One of our ships will pick them up shortly, if they haven't already." he said. "I had planned to vaporize Issen and the rest of his facility. But I don't kill civilians, so I had to go back for you." The human's voice was relaxed.

"What do you plan to do with me?" she demanded. "Where is the sample?"

"The sample is in a compartment to your left, take it if you want. If I was you, I'd wait until you were ready. That's some nasty stuff, burns you inside out. As for you," He hesitated. "I'm headed back to my ship, I'll put the drones on fixing yours when we get there. Should only take them a couple of days to get her space worthy again."

"I don't have a couple of days to wait." Krystal snapped at the human, "I need to get that sample and Issen's ID back to my contact."

"There's the door, you can get out and walk, but I doubt you'd get very far. Drop the attitude and use a bit of common sense. Your options are limited and I think I've given you reason enough to trust me, make the best of your situation and relax. You have a name Blue?"

"Of course I do, but I'm not about to tell you. It sure isn't Blue."

"Until you give me something else, it is Blue."

"Kursed, I'm called Kursed."

"I've heard of you, nothing good of course." he looked at her out of the corner of his eye, a slight smile on his face. Krystal still couldn't believe it, this sickeningly friendly human was one of the most feared names in the Lylat system. The name Orion could panic even the most battle hardened outlaws, always knows where and when to strike, never says a word, and never leaves survivors. No one had ever seen him in person, no one alive anyway.

"You're not what I expected for a professional killer." Krystal said smugly.

"Sorry I can't live up to the legend. Alot of what you hear are stories pirates told about their deceased buddies to give their last moments a bit of flair. Most people that get this close don't live very long. I try and let my actions speak for me, sometimes you can avoid conflict based on reputation alone, it's worked very well for me. The cold blooded killer stories are pure myth, if there's a way to solve a problem without shooting, I'll be the first to try it. Most of the guys I deal with out here don't consider that option though, which is fine by me. I'm not even a mercenary, just a regular soldier with a regular salary, though I do take a cut of the bad guy's loot when I can, most of them don't need it anymore. We're almost there, she should be just beyond that rock. Ahh, there she is, _DSM Fortune's Prospect_."

"You've got to be kidding me? Is that thing even space worthy or do I have to wear a pressure suit the whole time I'm on board?" Coming out from behind an asteroid was a ship 600 meters long, made up of 4 large compartments set 2 by 2 with a large superstructure rising from the aft section. The forward left compartment was only half there sparks and gases shooting out from the wreckage, the rear left compartment was missing it's upper door, the twisted equipment inside clearly visible. The right side wasn't much better, the rear compartment's upper door was smashed and useless it's bottom door was missing completely, the right forward compartment was opening slowly, revealing a crudely constructed ship hangar with several ships Krystal had never seen before. There were small drones swarming around them, an energy shield held the atmosphere in.

"She's an old mining ship, I found her crippled and drifting in an asteroid belt 2 years ago, hard to believe she looked worse then than she does now. She's not the prettiest ship in the system but she is very unique for a wreck, her jump drive was still intact."

"I can't imagine anything on that wreck still working," Krystal said. "What's so special about a jump drive?" The human turned and looked at her again.

"Jump drives allow us to open a portal at any point within the drive's range and travel there with ease. Trips that would take days by conventional means, like the run from Lyalt to here can be made in moments with the aid of a jump drive. I was impressed with the way the merc squadrons that operate in Lylat were able to police the system without much help from the Cornerian government. I had the opportunity to watch some of them during the troubles there. With the _Prospect_ and it's intact jump drive I can deploy a squadron anywhere in this region on a moments notice backed by a mothership. A couple of these ships with teams operating in the region could really help stabilize things. I think it's a sound concept but I need Cornerian pilots to chase the troublemakers that run into Lylat to get away from us since I can't enter the system myself."

"Not interested." Krystal said as she sat back, arms folded. "My squadron days are over."

"I wasn't offering, there's no room out here for amateurs. I'm looking for people with something better than a desire for credits."

"With all this state of the art equipment," she kicked the back of his seat. "I'm sure it will go well. I am one of the best pilots in Lylat." The human looked at her again and smiled.

"My ship's towing yours. Something you might want to remember."

There was a shutter as her ship was released, a docking winch pulled it into the hangar. When they docked, Krystal stepped out of the ship and breathed in the metallic air, the stench of hot slag and grease burned her lungs. The floor was covered with scorch marks and bits of scrap metal, there were bars in the Lylat outskirts that were cleaner than this. Everything on the ship looked decrepit, there wasn't a straight panel anywhere. Blast holes and scorch marks marred the outside of the hull, wires and lose paneling covered the walls, the lights flickered, the ones that worked anyway. They made their way to a heavy pressure door that groaned open revealing a small tram system built into the backbone of the ship. The tram clattered along the track, grinding to a halt in front of them. Dozens of drones roamed the ship as the human turned away from the tram and walked through the cavernous hangar bay, there didn't appear to be any crew. He stopped at a console. The human began pressing buttons on the holographic panel. An image of Krystal's ship appeared, parts of it glowing red. Another panel popped up, a wall of text she didn't recognize streamed by, the human highlighting parts of it as it scrolled past. Some of the drones working on the other ships stopped and moved into position around Krystal's ship.

"What are they doing to my ship?" she yelled.

"I started a restoration program, it will examine your ship and reconstruct the damaged parts to the best of it's ability. I'd give it about a 98% accuracy, it's a different kind of ship than the drones are used to but it's nowhere near as advanced."

"Call them off." she stepped in front and looked at him coldly. "I don't want your drones anywhere near my ship and I don't need you holding my hand. I'll fix the ship myself."

"Given the ship's condition, I'll have my wreck fixed before you do. But if you insist." he walked over to a cabinet on the wall and unlocked the doors. He turned around with a mallet and portable plasma cutter in hand and gave them to Krystal. "These should get you started. You can find the plating and ship components you'll need in the bays on either end of the hangar, some of them may require modification to work on your ship, but of course you can handle that. If you change your mind, the flashing red button on the console over there will start the drones." The dry sarcasm in the human's voice irritated her.

"You can go away, I don't want you looking over my shoulder and when I'm done here I want that sample from Venom." She grabbed the tools from his hand, they were heavier than she was expecting and the mallet slipped, hitting the floor with a metallic clang. The human chuckled and began walking toward the tram. She picked up the mallet and threw it at his head. He calmly side stepped as it flew over his shoulder and hit the floor again, sliding a few meters down the hangar. He walked over and picked it up, then placed it on the drone control console and pressed the glowing red button, he walked over to the tram.

"For getting around the ship." He pointed to lines on the wall and floor. "Blue is the hangar deck, red is engineering, green crew quarters and the mess hall, yellow is command and captain's quarters. I'll give you the first mates quarters, it's not 5 star, but it's better than sleeping in the hangar. It's on tier 2, follow the green line and it's the first door on the right. You can rest and clean up there, I'd recommend a shower. Meals are on the house, go to the mess or punch up what you want from your room and it will be brought to you. It's mostly human fare, but some of the dishes are pretty close to Cornerian."

"The only thing that needs cleaned up around here is this floating chunk of scrap. Here's what I think of you and your hospitality." she scolded, making a rude gesture before turning away from the tram.

"Two days of this" she thought.

"Oh and Blue," The human said as the tram's doors closed. "lose the attitude."

Krystal kicked the wall. By now the drones in the hangar bay had started to work on her ship, she couldn't get close to it. They were cutting holes everywhere while others were bringing in materials from various parts of the hangar, they seemed to paint the materials into the shape they needed, everything from structural components to wiring, the drones made on the spot. She set the plasma cutter on the console and called the tram. She looked at the panel inside the tram, there were several colored buttons and some writing she didn't recognize. She pressed the green button and the tram rumbled down the dark tunnel. It's lights flickering then going out, leaving her standing in the darkness as the tram rocked along the track. At least it smelled better than the hangar.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2**

The tram stopped on the engineering deck, the red line on the floor going off to the left and right, green and yellow went straight to an elevator. The human walked around the corner, he had been waiting for her to follow.

"That didn't take long." he said with a smirk. "It's better this way, trust me. The drones will have you and your attitude off this ship and back to whatever it is that you do in no time."

"It's not like I had a choice, those things are all over my ship. So where is the crew on this ship? Or can you not find anyone who can stand you." The human looked at her and sighed.

"Like I said, it's a re purposed mining ship. It's meant to operate with a skeleton crew, 12 people and two officers. The less people they have to put out here the more profit they can make. It's set up so one person can pilot it and run the drones. Most systems are automated, the drones do the bulk of the work, the controller isn't big enough to run the number of drones I need to repair the ship fully so progress is a bit slow. They were designed to maintain the ship, not rebuild it. I've reconfigured the mining tech to harvest and reclaim minerals from space, then it breaks them down and reconstructs them into materials necessary for daily operation and to repair the ship. It's really remarkable how well it's worked out, I can literally make anything I need from basic supplies and ammunition to major ship components, all out of space debris."

"Well aren't you the smart one." she smiled. "I guess I misjudged you." The human stepped back and folded his arms as Krystal spoke. "If you were really smart, you'd fly this scrapheap into the nearest star and do me and the rest of the galaxy a favor by going with it." The human pulled his weapon. He pointed it at Krystal's forehead. She froze, the nausea again. Her hands shook, she closed her eyes, here we go...

"I'm getting tired of you." he looked at her, his eyes narrowed, teeth clenched. "This chip on your shoulder is an act. You're not as cold-hearted as you make yourself out to be. I saw it in the research facility and I see it again now, the tears, the hesitation, the fear, and you were worried about the captives I rescued. Deep inside I think you're just a hurt, scared, little girl hiding behind a false name and a bad attitude and if you continue on like this it will get you killed. You drew that blaster on me down on the planet but you didn't have any intention of using it. Had I known you were a bounty hunter beforehand, I've have shot you dead without hesitation. They might have feared the name Kursed in Lylat, but out here you're just another nameless amateur going to meet an early end on some desolate rock."

"If that's my fate. I am willing to accept it." she said, struggling to remain calm.

"No, you're not. Or you wouldn't have gotten on that ladder and climbed into my ship. I am trying to help you, you need it right now. So make things easier on both of us and drop the act." he holstered his weapon and started walking down the hall, fists clenched.

"So you think you know me? You know what I've been through?" Krystal was fuming at the thought, she stepped out of the elevator. He was right though, and it pushed her over the edge. She wasn't going to shoot him, he saved her life. "I AM cursed. Had you not been of some use to me on that planet I'd have shot YOU dead. I don't know what you want but you're not going to get it from me. I lost the ability to care a long time ago, along with everyone and everything I've ever cared about."

"You're the only one in the galaxy that's suffered loss huh?" He turned around and began walking back. "Whatever you lost I never had to begin with, my parents dumped me in a trash bin in some back alley on a station I don't even know the name of. I was found by a cleaning crew and put in a military orphanage. I spent my entire childhood and most of my young adult life bitter, hurt, and angry just like you are now. When I was 18 I was pressed into military service where they recommended me for operative training, I learned alot in those years. I had no family, no friends, and no place I could call home, but I learned in my travels that for every one piece of murdering, thieving garbage out there there's a million decent people just trying to earn an honest living. With numbers like that, being like you, hateful and full of spite toward everyone is counter productive."

"Rubbish, it sounds like you didn't get the hint that no one wants you around." Krystal said. "My home planet was destroyed, my parents killed and the only person I thought loved me tossed me aside because he didn't want to see me hurt. My former allies used me then threw me away when I outlived my usefulness. The population I risked my life to save shuns me and the people I thought were my friends no longer speak to me. Everyone I've met since I began this life has either wanted to kill me or use me, I have seen the absolute worst people this galaxy can produce. There's no reason for me to show compassion or concern, the rest of the galaxy can sit and rot for all I care."

"So you spend you time running around, bitter and pissed off at the world for what?" The human looked at her, "So you can get killed picking a fight in the wrong place at the wrong time. Ask yourself, of all the terrible things that have happened to you, how many of them were by your actions? I stopped feeling sorry for myself a long time ago and I realized there are good people out there worth helping, I'm sorry you're not one of them. I'm giving you a chance to stay on my good side, please do yourself a favor and take advantage of it. You think I'm weak or naive because I'm kind, you're wrong. I'm kind because I choose to be, if you continue like this, I may change my mind. But you seem to go through life intent on making it worse for yourself and if that's the case let me know, I'll gladly put you out of your misery."

"If you were serious, you'd have done it already." Krystal said. The human drew and fired, hitting the wall just to the left of her head. His face was expressionless, a cold, empty stare that sent chills through her body. Krystal touched the side of her head, the shot had just missed her, leaving a smoking hole in the back wall of the elevator. She became light headed and dizzy, she struggled to keep her balance, and then fell to the floor.

"How dare you!" Krystal screamed, struggling to get back to her feet, "I didn't do any of this to myself, it's all been out of my control. I...I..." she began breathing heavy, there were tears running down her face. She stumbled over to one corner of the elevator, hitting the green button as quickly as she could. As the doors closed she faced the corner so the human couldn't see her, she tried to hold herself together until the elevator could get moving.

"That's what I thought." The human said as the doors closed.

Krystal stepped out of the elevator and wiped her eyes. After her encounter with the human, she needed time to cool off. He had opened a wound she thought healed a long time ago. Her mind raced, so many bad memories flooded in, she couldn't focus. There was a rustling noise behind her, the turned and looked down. A small drone roamed the floor at her feet, scrubbing the the footprints behind her, she kicked it down the hall, it shattered as it hit the wall and came to rest in the corner. She turned and looked for her room, the hall in the crew quarters was well lit, clean, white, and polished. One door had a green light on the lock, the rest were red. She opened it and started to step inside. There was a buzzing sound down the hall, several drones had come out from the wall and began working on the one she had kicked. It now scooted around the floor again, good as new.

The first mate's cabin was the cleanest place she had been in since she left Star Fox. Star Wolf were tough and well funded, but they were slobs. Except Panther, but no matter how much he told her he loved her, she'd never step all the way into that room of his. She was just a trophy anyway, to all of them. A final insult to Star Fox before going on to best them one last time. Corneria was right to hate her, she took Wolf's bait during the war with the Anglars, and she took one of the best squadrons in Lylat and broke it apart. Had the 2 squadrons worked together as they did during the Aparoid invasion, things might have been different, lives might have been saved. Star Wolf didn't need her to win, they wanted her so Star Fox would lose and she played her part very well. The jeers of the general population gave her all the reason she needed, and it only took a few years to slip from memory. Even Fox didn't recognize her. The more time she spent alone the more she began to feel like herself again, the cold, hard, bounty hunter act was wearing thin. She just didn't have the stomach for it anymore, flying with a squadron gave her purpose and a family. This life, gave her nothing.

As she sat on the bed she listened to the sounds of the ship. Not another thought, there was no crew, just the hum of the drones and the ships enormous machinery. She knew her telepathy had been fading for awhile now, Wolf had suspected it, but she hid it as long as she could. It had given her an edge tracking bounties while it lasted. On this last run it was almost impossible to pickup even the most direct thoughts, she couldn't read that human at all, she wondered if he knew. Doubtful, he seemed too wrapped up in his own world to care who she was. She looked around the room, a large window faced the forward part of the ship. It looked out over the damaged hangars, where the drones were welding away. She pulled the blinds shut, the thought of being trapped on this wreck worried her. Someone could come looking, but who knew she was here? Where exactly was here? The human said Beta system. The coordinates her contact had given took her out of Lylat and into what she thought was just dark space. She needed something to take her mind off of it all. There was a small bathroom with a shower, she turned on the water, something on this ship actually worked, steam filled her nose. She locked the door, undressed, and stepped into the shower letting the warm water soothe her. There was a pool of brown water circling the drain, she needed the shower, that human didn't have to point it out, but she did need it.

Krystal stepped out of the shower and sat down on the bed, her body still ached. Life on the run was hard, there wasn't a place she could lay her head for more than a few hours. On this ship though, she was comfortable. No one knew she was here, and the sheets were warm and inviting. As she drifted off to sleep her life came rushing back. Her dreams had always been vivid, but this different than what she had felt before. Everything she had done came rushing back, Saurnia, Fox, the Aparoids, her departure from Star Fox, Panther, her time in Star Wolf. She remembered showing Wolf how to bypass the CDF security and land on Corneria, he assured her everything he was doing was legal. The flood of images continued, the Anglars, Fox pleading with her to return to the team, her answer. The people of Corneria booing her as Star Wolf returned triumphant, the hurt she felt again. She had spent years hiding from Star Wolf and the general public, Wolf didn't take kindly to her just walking out. She lived off the money she had saved from her time as a mercenary with Star Fox and later Star Wolf, but it didn't last forever. That's when Kursed was born, she would be like the public that shunned her, cold, brutal, and without mercy. It flashed forward, to her days on the run, so many nameless faces, strangers wanting to take her home, pirates wanting to kill her.

She hated taking lives, it went against everything she had been taught on Cerinia. Wolf told her it would get easier with time, but it never did. On the ground face to face was the hardest, having to look someone in the eyes at their end, shooting at ships was much less personal. Bounty hunting wasn't about fighting ship to ship, it was hunting an individual down like an animal and killing them, for money. Not for the benefit of the galaxy, not to set right a wrong, just for credits, and it disgusted her. The memories shifted again to her time on the planet Kew, it was a planet tidally locked and in close orbit to a failed star just outside of Lylat. She was tracking a rogue officer of the Venomian army, he had left just before she arrived. It was hot, the winds were brutal, blowing dust and rocks, it was almost impossible to see at times in the dim light on the surface. She remembered seeing Fox again and wondering what he was doing out there. He didn't know who she was, or he didn't want to know it was her. Then it flashed to Issen and his facility. She was on her knees, the cold blaster pressed at the back of her head. In her 3 year career as a bounty hunter she had never come so close to the end. At that moment the one thing she wished for more than anything was a chance to turn in all around, to be whole again. There was a shot, Issen fell, then darkness. She had it.

Krystal woke up and jumped to her feet. She had no idea how long she'd been out. Her clothes were not where she left them, piled in the corner of the bathroom. They were folded neatly on top of a dresser on the other side of the room, clean and pressed. The door was locked, and she knew there was no crew. She tossed her clothes on the floor and waited, a small drone emerged from a panel in the wall and moved over to them, folded them and placed them back on the bed. She chuckled. A laugh, how long had it been? She walked over to the dresser and searched the drawers. Most were empty, but there were a few items leftover from the room's previous occupant. A gray jacket vest with about half a dozen pockets, a pair of dark colored pants, and a lose fitting gray shirt. The pants didn't fit, too long, she cut the legs off short. Not a bad look, she thought, much better than the worn and filthy Cornerian clothing she had worn. Her blaster was on the nightstand next to the bed, repaired and looking brand new. As she looked up she caught herself in the mirror, the purple color gone from her hair, she never liked that color anyway, her blue hair didn't blend well with the dyes. She got dressed, straightened her hair, holstered her blaster, and stepped out of the room.

Krystal walked to the elevator and looked at the panel. Yellow for command she thought. The doors opened on the command deck, the ship's bridge was right ahead. The room was massive with consoles and chairs for at least a dozen people. The ship's log hadn't been updated since the crew abandoned it, they had struck an asteroid trying to evade a pirate attack. The crew was rescued but the ship was too deep in the asteroid field and they couldn't get back to it. At the back of the room was a holographic map of the galaxy, it zoomed in on one small area where the spiraling arms intersected, a series of colored lines connecting hundreds of stars, all with labels she couldn't read. The human systems dwarfed anything she imagined, Lylat was one tiny star, the humans had hundreds. All this expansion, all that power, they could have rolled over Lylat anytime they wanted to but they stayed back and left them alone. Why? She remembered the captain's cabin was on this level too. The human was nowhere to be found, she had an excellent opportunity to find out who he really was.

Down the hall from the bridge was the captain's cabin, the door was unlocked, no one inside. She quietly slipped in and shut the door behind her. It was slightly larger that the room she had and well decorated with pictures of the ship against some of the most stunning formations she had ever seen in space. There was a small couch in front of a large panoramic window that looked out over the back of the ship, large asteroids floated silently past. She hadn't realized the ship was drifting. There was a dresser in one corner, a cluster of small pictures sat on top it. One caught her eye, it was the human dressed in what must have been a formal military uniform, standing next to a tall gray wolf female in a white dress with piercing blue eyes. They were smiling, arms wrapped around each other, her long, dark hair flowed down her back nearly to her tail.

A second picture of the wolf, looking over her shoulder smiling and winking. There was a wide vertical scar on her face running across her left eye, and a v-shaped cut in the tip of her ear. There were other scars just visible through her fur on her arms and around the edges of her dress. A note in the lower corner read in Cornerian, "Your's always, Miri." The picture frame was sitting on top of a small box, Krystal gently moved it and opened the box. Inside was a broken gold necklace, two rings, a data reader, a stack of data discs, and some other pictures of Miri. Krystal took the data reader out of the box, there was a disc already inside. She fumbled with the odd device, it flickered to life and projected an image on the wall. She watched as the recording ran. It was mostly pictures and exchanges between the human and Miri, daily updates and more than a few arguments. She couldn't read the human writing but Krystal did find what she was looking for in the audio. The human's real name was Jack Roberts, he was a prospector for the HSF's deep space mining operations. There was alot of talk about special projects and high risk zones, the information was vague at best, none of it was related to the commando type raid she had first met him on. She shuffled through the discs, knocking one of the rings out of the box. It rolled across the floor and fell over. She walked to it and picked it up, it was slightly scorched and discolored on one side. There was an inscription again in Cornerian, "Always brighter together." As she put it back in the box next to the other ring, it took on a deep shine, almost glowing. The last of the discs was in a case that had been opened many times, it was scratched and worn with corners chipped off. Kursed placed the disc in the reader and began the recording.

"Tragedy in the Alpha system again today," a female voice started. "as pirates from the notorious Black Venom Syndicate struck again. This time a passenger ferry taking workers between Alpha III and the Io orbital station. System security did manage to stop the hijacking but not without losses, the ship's hull was breached in several places and several escape pods that managed to eject had been shot, their occupants killed. The HSF has been powerless to stop the pirates who frequently hit targets in and around the Lylat restriction zone. Their motive appears to be a strong resentment toward human presence in this system. We have obtained a list of passengers and crew on board, if you have any relation to a name on this list, HSF system security my have information or recovered personal belongings for you." The names scrolled on the screen, hundreds of them, some in human text and some in Cornerian, about halfway down was Miri, her last name in human text. Krystal felt sick, looking at the scorched ring in the box. She carefully put the recorder back in the box and placed it atop the dresser with the picture of Miri on top of it's lid, then slipped out the door and back into the elevator.

She stepped into the elevator and took it back down to the hangar deck. A voice crackled over the intercom.

"You're finally awake. Meet me in the hangar bay and we'll talk about your ship."

She took the tram out to the hangar, the ship looked different this time, everything was slightly cleaner and stench in the air was almost gone. It still looked like a wreck on the outside though. The tram ground to a halt and Krystal walked toward her ship. The drones had swarmed it and it was difficult to tell what progress, if any had been made. The human was crouched underneath, looking at one of the lower panels. There was some kind of personal shield protecting him from the hot bits of metal the drones were creating. He stood up and walked toward her, stopped and put his hand on his weapon.

"You plan on trying to use that again?" he asked pointing to her holster.

"Umm...no. I think we moved past that point. I wanted to say I'm sorry." she turned her head down and shuffled her feet. "I wasn't really in the right frame of mind the other day and I may have lashed out at you unnecessarily. You opened an old wound, one that needed to be looked at again. I wouldn't have blamed you if you left me behind or shot me, I earned it."

"No worries." he smiled as he spoke, "I wasn't going to shoot you, not unless you pulled another weapon or attacked me. Put it in the past and let's move on."

"Just like that," she thought. "How could he just shrug it off?"

"I got you out of there, I feel it's my responsibility to get you flying again. Your ship is nearly ready, the drones have made excellent progress in the last 40 hours. The alloys aren't as complex as what they normally deal with on HSF ships, I've had to stop them from upgrading on a couple of occasions. The upgrades would make your ship a better flyer, but the drones would be the only ones able to repair it. They're putting it back as it was, or as close as they can get."

"Thank you, really. I don't know what to say. It's been a long time since someone did something for me without expecting something in return." she looked over the ship, even the paint matched. "I was out for 40 hours?"

"I'm afraid so, probably better that way though, you were a bit on edge. In my line of work, you don't get the chance to help someone very often, and you needed it. Besides, allies are hard to come by out here, everyone's either a pirate or a smuggler or working for one of the two. You seem different now, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, I just needed some time to think. I did some soul searching while I was in the room you gave me. What line of work are you in exactly?"

"I'm an agent for the HSF, when they have a problem they can't fix with 800mm railguns they call me. Orion was a nickname the human pirates gave me back in the home systems, some ancient hunter of myth, I guess it scares them. Your target, Dr. Issen got the HSFs attention when he smuggled that toxin out of Lylat and into one of their systems. Though the Beta system is largely undeveloped, we still have civilians here. An uncontrolled bio weapon let lose on a colony is something we do not need right now."

"So you're some kind of a special operative. The HSF? Is that your military?"

"Yes, I am. The Human Systems Federation, or HSF, is a central government for all human star systems, the military is part of it, but there is alot more. Your government granted us rights to settle in a few of the star systems near Lylat, though we can't land or send ships into Lylat itself. I think they're keeping us a secret."

"No doubt, I could imagine the panic if Corneria found out there was an alien presence settled around them after what happened. How long have you been here?"

"The HSF has been here about 10 years, I've been here since they first entered the region. I was on the exploration ship _Particle Horizon_ when we first made contact with the Cornerian government. I've spent a great deal of time working to keep peace in our newly acquired territory. The cover is I'm a prospector for a deep space mining corp, people I know think I'm out scouting barren rocks for weeks on end, but really I'm out trying to stop large scale conflict before it happens. I've spent almost my entire 53 years doing this kind of work all over HSF space, it's all I know."

"53 years?" Krystal looked at him, "You don't look 53 years old. How long do humans live?"

"About 175 years give or take a few." He said, "Over the centuries we started living longer, at the start of the 21st century it wasn't uncommon to see a human living well into their 80s, jump forward almost a millennium later and we've more than doubled that. I'd say a 50 year old human is pretty close to Cornerian in their late 20s, we get into our mid 20s and the aging process just slows down naturally, it doesn't start to show again for almost a century." He ran his hand down the now seamless hull of Krystal's ship.

"This was a Cornerian fighter at one time, I recognize the hull design. When the Aparoids retreated out of our systems I followed them to Lylat as a forward observer. This was one of the ships that was in the squadron that finally drove the Anglars off."

"You watched the battle? You had all this firepower out here in space and you let us get slaughtered by the Aparoids?"

"No, the Cornerian government rejected our offer to send aid, they didn't want us in their system. Same thing after the Anglar War, we sat back and watched. We don't get involved unless we're wanted and we don't force ourselves into occupied systems, it causes too much trouble and our equipment and manpower are stretched too thin as it is. I volunteered to observe and render any aid I could without going in directly. There were alot of ships trying to get to the outskirts of the system, we protected as many as we could, even going so far as to house the ships and their crews in our carriers. When it was all over, every non HSF ship in our territory came to Corneria loaded with supplies. We did all that your government would allow us to do."

"I was in the squadron that defeated the Aparoids, but they took me off the team shortly after." Tears started to well up in Krystal's eyes. "The longer I sat grounded the more I hated them for it. I eventually joined another squadron and took some pretty nasty jobs. I became someone else, someone I didn't really like being. When the Anglars attacked, my old squad came for me, and I pushed them away. We won the battle, but I didn't get the cheers and adoration the rest of my squad had gotten, I let my real friends throw their lives away because I was bitter. I was branded a traitor, so I left. I've been on the run and alone ever since."

"I see." he looked at her, his dark eyes trying to hide his racing mind. "Time heals all wounds, even yours Kursed."

"Krystal. Krystal is my real name. I think Kursed died with Dr. Issen, I hadn't realized it until now."

"You can call me Jack, since we're on real terms now. Whatever is in your past, your true friends will forgive you. Telling someone you made a mistake is the hardest thing to do, it goes a long way though."

"I don't see how, I let them down. Betrayed their trust, I did everything I could to hurt them as deeply as I could, and I did it all deliberately."

He flipped her a large coin, about 4 centimeters in diameter. It had a green gem in the center of one side with a red blinking light and an image of the ship etched in the other.

"Go, find out. The worst they could say is no, unless you'd rather hold on to the hope and never know the truth. If it doesn't work out, give that a click. It will pinpoint the _Prospect's_ location on your ships nav computer, make sure you have that transponder and you're the only one within 50km of the ship or the autocannons will tear you and any other ship near you to shreds. If I can get them working again anyway."

"What is this?" Krystal asked.

"It's what the miners used to mark their finds in a system. Click it once and it pinpoints my ship to yours and vice versa, click it 5 times rapidly and it calls out to my ship, letting me know to come to you. The miners used to send out small ships to scout a system and then mark the best finds to move the mining equipment to. It uses your ship's com system to send the signal so it doesn't work if you're not in your ship at the time."

"I'm not sure I like the idea of being traced." she said.

"It only works if you click it. When you do, you will know where I am and I will know where you are, but I will not come to you unless you call out. You have my word. If you decide you really don't want it, just smash it."

"Thank you again." Krystal said. "I think I'm ready to leave."


	3. Chapter 3

**Part 3**

There was a rumble from the ship. The hangar lights went out, replaced by a series of red flashing lights and rotating beacons. A computerized voice repeated, "Collision detected." There was a rumble again. Jack had run over to the console in the hangar and brought up the ship's local scanner, there were several small objects orbiting the ship, one large object just inside scanner range. The com system popped up with an open channel.

"Someone's knocking." he yelled, "Guess we better find out what they want."

He leaned over the console, "Unidentified attacker, this is _DSM Fortune's Prospect._ We are dead in the water, repeat we are without shields and have minimal power, break off your attack."

"This is Commander Wolf O'Donnell, Cornerian Defense Force: Star Wolf squadron, we have reason to suspect you are harboring a fugitive. Surrender immediately."

"Commander, we're a damaged mining vessel awaiting a repair crew, no other personnel on board. Break off your attack, repeat break off your attack."

"_Fortune's Prospect_, this is your last warning. Surrender and prepare to be boarded.

"This isn't Lylat, CDF doesn't have any rights out here." Krystal said. "What's Wolf up to?"

"Friend of yours?" Jack looked at her with eyebrows up.

"My old squadron, the bad one." she said hanging her head down. "When did Wolf get so professional with the coms?"

"_Fortune's Prospect_, what is your response?" Wolf interrupted. "Transponder signal is coming from inside your ship, you are harboring a fugitive."

"Commander, I salvaged a vessel from the planet below. I am the only one on this ship. I will grant you permission to dock with it and inspect it yourself."

"No! You can't trust him." Krystal pleaded. "Whatever he agrees to, he won't honor it. They're after me, I can take my ship and just go with them."

"You're right about the CDF not having rights out here, this is a human controlled system and everyone within the CDF that has access to this area of space knows it. Something is wrong, either they're idiots and sent him out here knowing it would cause an incident or he's doing something he shouldn't be and the CDF doesn't know about it. I want to look into this a bit more. I need you to take the tram back to engineering and follow the hall. There's a saferoom there that doubles as an escape pod. They won't know you're here."

"I won't run from them anymore. I'm tired of running away." Krystal walked to the tram, Jack followed behind her.

"I'm not telling you to run away. If they see you and decide to take you, I can't stop them. Commander O'Donnell said you were a fugitive and it would reflect badly on the HSF if I stopped them from arresting you. It's best if they don't know you're here."

"I don't know." Krystal shook her head, "This is all new to me. I don't know what I could be wanted for."

"They've got something on you or they wouldn't be out here, just lay low until we know what's going on."

"_Fortune's Prospect_, your request for a boarding is acceptable." Wolf barked into the com. "Open your hangar and prepare to be boarded."

"Understood Commander, hangar doors opening." The massive doors groaned and rumbled as the hydraulics struggled to move them. The Star Wolf team quickly entered the hangar and jumped from their ships. The deafening roar of the doors closing behind them.

Wolf walked over to Jack, blaster drawn. "You must be the guy on the radio, and a human no less." he sneered and pressed the blaster to Jack's face. "I don't suppose you're going to tell me where the pilot to that ship is?"

"I have no idea, it was in the wreckage of some facility down on the planet's surface. We picked it up as a mineral deposit. Like I told you I salvaged it and brought it up here two days ago. The pilot is likely dead or long gone from here. The transponder you've been tracing must have come online when the ship was repaired."

"You fixed this ship in two days time, and you can't even fix your own?" he looked at Panther and Leon. Something's not right with this. Search the ship, I want it taken apart."

"It's halfway there already." Leon snickered as he walked over to Krystal's ship. "Look at this repair job, top of the line stuff here Wolf."

"I'm not interested in the ship, I'm interested in it's pilot, find her! Now! I'm going to see what the human knows." Wolf turned and pointed his blaster. "Now, you say you found this ship, wrecked on the planet below, brought it up here, and began repairing it. Is that correct?"

"Yes." Jack answered flatly.

"And what about the destroyed facility on the surface, there is no way that ship would have survived a blast like that. So you're either lying or you pulled that ship out before the place went up." Wolf's voice became more tense. "I had a very good friend down there, Dr. Issen. You know the name? He hates you, all of you. He wanted you out of this territory, I think he was planning to kill you."

"I think you're right." Jack smiled. "The question is, how did you know about us and the good doctor?"

"Being the hero if Corneria has it's advantages. The best one, besides the money, is access to all this secret information they keep on that big station that orbits the planet. Like a whole civilization building out here just out of reach. Do you know how much leverage those secrets have given me? Who would have thought a handful of useless diplomats would be hiding all this?" Wolf raised his arms and looked around the hangar. "But back to the reason I'm here. The pilot of this ship is wanted for smuggling a dangerous and toxic substance out of Lylat, for the murders of several innocents on various planets and stations, for the destruction of an advanced forward research facility, the death of it's controller, and an uncounted number of civilian lives. It seems she's taken to attacking human ships as well, she might have blown up some crippled old mining vessel recently. If you turn her over to us, we might let you go and that attack won't happen. She's completely crazy and not to be trusted."

"You seem to know alot about what's going on out here." Jack followed Wolf with his eyes. "I'd guess you have your hands in alot of it."

Krystal had climbed in behind the tram where the others couldn't see her. She listened to Wolf, trying not to burst out yelling. He had to have known her telepathy was fading, how else could he have set her up? He was trying to frame her for the things he was doing when the CDF wasn't looking, those 'murders' were contracted by Wolf to her through a middleman after she left Star Wolf. She never picked up on any of it, Wolf continued.

"There's alot of profit to be made in unrest. That's the mistake I made before, I was the unrest and it earned me a price on my head. The Anglar war fixed that and now I'm a hero in Lylat. They'd rather have me building homes back on Corneria, showing the people that I care about their plight. I don't build things, I destroy them, for credits. So now I need a new conflict to get the team back in action again and what better than a little skirmish with the new humans to get the credits flowing again?"

"You're trying to provoke a war with the HSF?" Jack looked at Wolf, stunned by what he was hearing. "Did you see what they did to the pirates out here? There's no way they would attack Lylat with anything less than a full fleet operation. We'd roll over you, your squadron, and the Cornerian Defense Force."

"And that is the problem I'm trying to solve." Wolf grinned, "You see, I'm not a bad guy, I don't want a full scale war. Wiping out the CDF would really cramp my finances, so I start a little skirmish by dropping this toxin from Venom on one of the smaller human stations here in this system. I blame it on the bounty hunter that took something from a recently destroyed research facility. Your military launches into Lylat looking for her, the CDF trades a few shots with your fleet, some ships get blown up then I save the day by turning the little blue bounty hunter over to your commanders and go home with a generous payout from the Cornerian government. I get the reward without taking the risk and she gets what's coming to her for skipping out on the team. I just need to find her."

"I already told you the person you're looking for isn't here." Jack stood upright, looking down at Wolf. "And for the record, I blew up that facility and shot the Doctor, I was the one that took that sample. It's HSF property now along with this salvaged fighter. The situation has been taken care of, I'm afraid you came out here for nothing."

"I'm getting tired of this." Wolf barked, his claws at the ready, "I know she's here, she didn't really think a new paint job was going to hide that ship from me did she? And I loved the new name, Kursed. So dark and mysterious. She played her part so well, tipping the balance out here in my favor by doing jobs I couldn't be seen doing. I couldn't believe how easily she fell for..."

Jack had heard enough, he kicked Wolf in the stomach. Wolf fired his blaster wildly and collapsed to the ground. As he struggled to regain his breath the human picked him up and began walking toward one of the Star Wolf ships, Wolf struggled to fight back, clawing at his attacker. He managed to break free of Jack's grip and tried to flee, Jack grabbed him and tossed him into the side of the Star Wolf ship that was docked nearby striking Wolf in the head with his fist and knocking him to the ground. Jack grabbed Wolf by his neck and lifted him off the ground.

"Put me down." Wolf struggled to speak under the human's grip, "I'm not above cutting you in on this deal. The other two don't even need to know. What do you say?"

"No." Jack answered. As Jack and Wolf fought, Leon and Panther returned from scouting the rest of the ship.

"Not another soul Wolf, the ship's empty." Leon said as the tram door opened. "Wolf!" Panther and Leon drew their weapons and started, firing at Jack who still had Wolf pinned against his ship. They hit him in the shoulder and in the leg, he fell to the deck, dropping Wolf and taking another hit in the side while trying to drag himself back behind a nearby console. Krystal had made her way out onto to the hangar deck during the fighting and stood behind Panther and Leon, who hadn't seen her. Wolf climbed into his ship and closed the canopy, gasping for breath as he powered up the ship's systems.

"Give up, you're out classed." Panther yelled. "We're the best squadron in Lylat and we're talking what we came for."

"Like hell you are." Jack yelled. "There's a large object just in range of this ship's turrets, I'm betting that's your squadron's carrier. The asteroid defense system has been tracking it since you approached the ship. You have 10 seconds to get your filthy asses back to your own ship or I'll turn the guns on and reduce it to slag."

"You really want us to believe you've got guns on this thing?" Leon said mocking Jack's words. "And that they actually work?"

"Take your chances." Jack said. "You won't make it out of range before they target your fighters too. You can take whatever you want, but you don't get very far beyond those doors." Leon hesitated, looking at Panther who was standing nearby.

"Panther, back to the ship!" Leon ran toward his ship with Panther following close behind. Krystal looked at Wolf, who had taken refuge in the cockpit of his ship, he had seen her and yelled at the others. Panther stopped, turned and smiled.

"Krystal my love, you've been away for so long." Panther spoke in a soft voice. "I had almost forgotten how gorgeous you are, but it's come back to me. As I knew you would." Krystal tensed up at his words, her hand on her blaster. She relaxed and stood there, brushing he hair back. She smiled at Panther and took her hand off her weapon.

"Panther!" Leon yelled. "10 seconds!"

"Don't worry about the guns, they don't work." Krystal began walking slowly toward them. "Like everything else on this heap, they're sad and broken." She pointed to Jack, propped up beside the console. His face was pale, sweat dripping from his forehead. His jaw clenched as Krystal spoke. "He's not going anywhere, just let him sit there."

"You haven't changed, have you my love?" Panther opened his arms and walked toward Krystal. "And I bet you have the sample? Maybe we can go back home and celebrate? You, me, and someplace cozy? Doesn't that sound nice? There is alot of money in that little vial."

"I have changed Panther." Krystal walked toward him, her body swinging. She looked at him and smiled as she grabbed the blaster in his hand and twisted, breaking his grip and seizing the weapon. Jack had gotten to his feet while the pair was distracted and grabbed Leon from behind, stripping the weapon from his hand and tossing him across the hangar. Leon scrambled to get back to his feet and started running toward his ship.

"What are you doing? I thought we'd be together again. Wolf was going to let you live, he promised me." Panther whined, staring at the tip of his own blaster. "We were going to clear your name, all you had to do was come back to us."

"Go back to your ship Panther, and get out of here." she raised the blaster again. "Before he turns the guns on." Jack opened the hangar doors as Panther sealed the canopy on his ship, looking at Krystal in disbelief. The Star Wolf team blasted out of the hangar and back to their ship, just outside. Jack reached up and activated the turrets. Only five of the three dozen responded, firing rapidly into space, their shots echoing in the ship's cavernous interior. The Star Wolf ship turned and took off at full thrust, it's engines glowing brightly. Krystal helped Jack to his feet.

"Thank you for standing up to them. I don't know why you did it, but I am glad you did. Are you alright? I saw you get shot."

"Just a few grazing shots, I'll patch them up after you're gone, it's nothing to worry about. I still had the welding shield on me when they attacked." he pointed to a metallic wristband on his right arm. "That helped to disperse some of the laser shots, they got through the shield, but it wasn't enough to be lethal. It still hurt like hell though."

"This may seem odd, but I'm happy you didn't hurt Wolf and the others too badly. I don't like any of them, but I do have a past with them."

"I need them alive." Jack said, "I need to know who sent them out here and what they are planning. The drones bugged their ships as soon as they docked, I should have some intel on them in a few days. To be honest, I was a bit worried it would come to killing. I wasn't sure what you were planning when you walked over to one of them. You could have turned my whole operation over to them, it sounded like Wolf was willing to cut you a deal to go back to Lylat with them."

"He'd have never followed through with it. Besides, I didn't want to be that person anymore."

She put her arms around him resting her head just below his chin, he cradled her head with one hand and held her close with the other. Krystal could hear the human's heartbeat, even after the fight, it was calm and steady. She looked up at him, her bright green eyes met his, they were brown, dark, and sad, almost burdened.

"I'm sorry for the way I was before." She said. "After what you've done for me, you didn't deserve that. I haven't had much to look forward to these last few years. Now I think I do." she looked at him and smiled.

"I'm not what you're looking for." he said, pushing her back slightly. Krystal paused for a second, and looked at the floor.

"I'm sorry... I just thought... I... I suppose you're right. I guess you're still recovering from what happened to Miri."

"I haven't heard that name in a long time." He looked at her, "If you've been through my things, I think you know all you need to about her."

"I wanted to know how you met her." She looked at the floor, "I know I shouldn't have looked in there. I wanted to know more about you, I didn't really trust you." Jack sighed and looked around, rubbing the wound on his arm.

"About 3 years ago, we had a report from one of our informants about a black market colony on one of the moons around Alpha VIII. There were a bunch of them in the system and we did our best to wipe them out when we found them. It was strictly CSU work because the smugglers would scatter if they knew we were coming. You could buy anything in those places, advanced weapons, narcotics, security codes, star charts for smuggling routes, exotic pets, even people if the price was right. I found her toward the end of my mission, left to die locked in a cage. She didn't have any family, nowhere to go, from what she told me she had been taken from a ship that was trying to get out of Lylat. She fought them off every time they tried to touch her and they roughed her up pretty bad for it. After that they couldn't sell her off, no one wanted a scarred up trophy girl, so they kept her in that cage. I agreed to take her in and settled her on one of the joint colonies in Alpha, I stayed around as often as I could to make sure she was alright. At first she was very cold and withdrawn, it took her awhile to get over her ordeal. I'm surprised she came out of it with her sanity intact, she's got an unbelievably strong will. I can't go into too much detail, I promised her I would not talk about it and she will not talk about it with anyone. Eventually she opened up, all it took was some nice clothes and a bit of freshening up, she said I made her feel pretty again, and to be honest, she cleaned up quite well. You've probably seen how it ended."

"So why keep going?" Krystal's eyes welled up again.

"To keep it from happening again. I'm in a position to stop things like that from happening, not many people are. I owe it to Miri and to everyone in this system to continue to do so. She's gone, there's nothing I can do to change that. I have a job to do and she had to move on. That's the way it is sometimes."

"I still can't see it." she shook her head. "Wait, she had to move on?"

"Yes, she was tired of me being gone for weeks at a time." he looked at her puzzled. "When I finally got the _Prospect _operational I came to see her and tell her my plan, I wanted her to stay with me while I put the team together and finished repairing the ship. She was gone, her necklace and ring sitting on the table. She didn't leave a note, and she never said goodbye. She was with me for a year, maybe a bit longer."

"But the necklace was broken, and the scorched ring and news report."

"The burned one is mine, it was damaged in a shootout while I was on assignment. I don't wear it anymore now that she's gone, there really isn't a point. They were her idea, I don't know where she got them, they're some kind of lifetime friendship symbol. I've done alot of traveling and I have never seen anything like them, they glow when they get near each other. I guess she broke the necklace when she went to take it off, she took the pendant that was on it with her. As for the news article, I found her name in the list of passengers. Oddly, she had used my last name. That was the last heard of her, she was working on one of the stations in Alpha system."

"I thought she had died on that transport ship." Krystal looked upset. "You haven't tried to track her down at all?"

"No." he said. "It isn't fair to her to sit and wait for me to come back, wondering if I'll even come back. Even if she regretted leaving, it still wouldn't be right for her to go through that."

"I guess it wouldn't. But isn't this life lonely?"

"You've been living it too, what do you think?" he put his hand on Krystal's shoulder. "I imagine there's someone you need to go seek out too, and you've got the sample from Venom and your bounty to collect."

"Keep the sample, it's no good to me without Issen. As for his bounty, I'm not going to collect it, Kursed died on that planet. Besides, now that I know Wolf had been the one giving me the jobs, I don't want to do this anymore. He's probably fabricating some kind of story to make me look bad." Krystal walked toward her ship, "You've done more for me than you can possibly realize. I have my spirit back, I don't know if I can ever repay you."

"I don't want you to try. Just go, get out of here before they come back. You've got the transponder if you need to find me. I'll open a jump portal to take you back to Lylat, it will save you alot of time, just go through it full thrust and don't go near the sides and you'll be fine. You have an ally and a friend here Krystal, don't forget that." Krystal climbed into her ship as the hangar doors groaned open. She waved to Jack propped up against the console, he saluted her and began to hobble toward the tram. She slowly pulled out of the hangar, no sign of Star Wolf. Out of the corner of her eye she caught a flash of light. Directly infront of the _Prospect_ was a massive swirling vortex, it seemed to open right in space itself, a torrent of white and blue streaks defined the entrance. She slowly approached it, the interior of the portal looked like a swirling wall of static, at the other end she could see the stars of Lylat just beyond. Krystal remembered the human's instructions and went through full thrust. As she came out the other side and banked to look back into the portal, it closed rapidly and then vanished.


	4. Chapter 4

**Part 4**

Krystal looked at her nav map, the drones on _Fortune's Prospect_ had updated it with the nearby human systems. She looked at the coin shaped transponder in her hand as she arrived in the Lylat system. Even at full speed it would take several days to get to the nearest human system, Alpha. She sat there drifting in space wondering which way to go. She thought about Fox and the others, the team she left behind, what were they doing now? Then she remembered Wolf and his speech on the _Prospect_, she was wanted, not to mention she was still traveling around in a stolen Cornerian fighter. A crackling voice broke her thoughts.

"Cornerian fighter, identify yourself." The voice was oddly familiar. "You are using an outdated transponder code, respond." Those repair drones must have reset her ship's transponder to the old CDF configuration and they had picked her up as soon as she entered the system.

"This is Krystal. My transponder is malfunctioning."

"Krystal, is that really you?" Now she recognized the voice. It was General Pepper.

"General Pepper? What are you doing out here?"

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you the same thing. We picked up a massive energy signature out here, was that you? We need to bring you and your ship aboard." his voice was stern.

"Understood." She had picked a terrible day to stop running. The CDF carrier grappled her ship and towed it into the hangar as fighters swarmed around her. Krystal climbed out of the cockpit and was greeted by a dozen armed guards, guns drawn on her. The General walked slowly toward her.

"Stand down men, there is no danger here." he looked at her and frowned, "At least there better not be."

"No General, I know what I've done. I am ready to face punishment." she stood up, head high.

"It's Ambassador now." he smiled. "I've been wondering about you for you for a long time, glad to see you're still in one piece. After I retired from the CDF I was given an interesting job offer. Cornerian Ambassador, who would have thought an old soldier like me could be privileged enough to represent our people to another race."

"They picked an excellent candidate sir." Krystal smiled at him.

"It's done wonders for my health, I don't know if the humans have a cure for old age but what they taught our guys about medicine is pretty close to it. I haven't felt this good in years." Pepper stood at ease, his hands behind his back. "There is the matter of your recent criminal activity. I'm afraid I can't let that go unanswered."

"Of course General, er Ambassador." He handed her a report, detailing her activities as Kursed, most of them anyway, there was a lump forming in the back of her throat as she read on. She had gotten the majority of them from a reliable contact that turned out to be working for Wolf. The CDF had no idea Wolf was the one that contracted her.

"Is this information accurate?" Pepper asked.

"I'm afraid it is." she hung her head down. "I won't run from the truth anymore. I did those things and I am ready to pay for what I have done."

"There's quite a bit there," Pepper said with a frown. "I'm not looking forward to bringing this to the Cornerian government." Pepper was interrupted by a crew member with a high priority message. It was a report sent directly to the ship from the HSF, outlining the incident in Beta system and Krystal's activities there. At the end of the report was an addendum outlining Wolf's own activities and the fraudulent information he provided to Krystal. Included in those activities was Wolf's attempt to blackmail Krystal into working for him again and his attempt to start a war with the humans. The document was signed on the bottom, Orion.

"Well this is unexpected." The Ambassador said, "This Agent Orion has outlined Captain O'Donnell's activities in great detail. I can't believe Wolf would attack a human ship in their own system, a conflict with the humans would end badly for us all. While I'm ashamed to learn you did these things, it was based on information given to you by one of our own, and since you are no longer part of the CDF, I can't hold you accountable for bad information. These were after all, criminals of one kind or another. You will have to turn over your fighter I'm afraid."

"Thank you Ambassador." she looked up at Pepper, "What will I do for a ship?"

"In a couple of days we're to rendezvous with a human ship and do a joint patrol of the Lylat Alpha system, the human's largest settled colonies are there. It's more of a diplomatic effort by them to get their ships into our system. They want us to see how they operate. Our government doesn't fully trust the humans, they complain there are too many mixed signals."

"What kind of signals are the humans sending?" Krystal asked.

"I probably shouldn't be telling you any of this." The Ambassador looked around, "But it's clear from the report you've already been in contact with the humans. They keep telling us they are peaceful and that they don't want any kind of conflict with our people, but at the same time, every ship they have is heavily armored and armed to the teeth and they seem to be perpetually ready for conflict. To make matters worse, they are getting restless about their aid ships being attacked as soon as they enter the system. That's how we tracked you out here, we know they use some kind of portal technology to move the aid ships in and out of Lylat, it was odd to see one open in this part of the system though. We won't let the human patrols escort the aid ships inside the system and the humans are threatening to stop the shipments if we can't keep the ships safe. We are still recovering from the last two wars and need the supplies to rebuild."

"Before I came back to Lylat," Krystal began. "I was rescued by a human calling himself Orion, on his ship I saw a map of all the systems the humans control, there are hundreds. If the humans wanted to take over Lylat by force, they could do it at any time. If they really wanted a conflict, they could start one and win it easily. If the human government you're working with is anything like the human I met, they are peaceful, but very dangerous when provoked."

"It's something to consider," Pepper said. "They've been a great help to us despite our efforts to drive them away. Truthfully, alot of the problems in the surrounding systems come from Lylat, I'm surprised they haven't moved into the system. I haven't seen any of their ships first hand, only heard stories and seen video footage from our scouts. To be honest, I haven't seen a human either."

"They're about this tall." Krystal raised her hand over her head and stood on her toes. "But they're very calm and collected, they don't have a threatening presence about them at all. The human I met had a crushing grip and tossed Wolf around with ease, they are stronger than they look."

"I see," Pepper said, "I'll know soon enough. During our patrol I can have one of our fighters drop you off at any place of your choosing. I'll let you keep your ship's nav chip so you can find your way back"

"Thank you Ambassador." Krystal remembered the news report on _Prospect_, "I think I'd like to go to Io station, if that's possible."

"That's as good a place as any, we'll probably stop there on our rounds through the system. Io station is the humans regional trade hub and houses alot of our people that work for the humans. You're likely to find many Cornerians there, ones that want to be able to go back and forth between the systems. Don't go planetside in a human system, we have a treaty with the humans and once you set foot in one of their colonies, you can't go planetside in Lylat again. There's quite a few ships going into and out of that station, you're sure to find something that can take you back. I wouldn't recommend taking a transport, they run to Corneria from time to time to help with the rebuilding, but there's a chance you won't make it."

Several days later, as Pepper had promised they entered the Alpha system to meet with the human ship. Krystal stood on the bridge as the human ship announced it's approach.

"This is Ambassador Pepper of the Cornerian carrier _Aquas_. We're in position awaiting your arrival." Pepper said into the com.

"_Aquas_," a female voice replied. "This is Admiral Constance Miller of the HSF Third Fleet Command, _DSC Ardennes_ is on approach, please stand by." A small human ship appeared out of a vortex similar to what Krystal had used to get back to Lylat, then a handful of smaller fighters came out and screened the area before the carrier itself emerged. At 5 kilometers long, it dwarfed the Cornerian carrier, there were numerous turrets perched along it's dark gray hull, they moved their barrels and rotated, constantly testing their motor systems.

"Jump complete." the Admiral said, "Ready to begin operations, glad to have you along _Aquas_. We'll be dispatching an away party shortly." Pepper stepped up and prepared to address the crew.

"Today." He began. "We begin an important chapter in the history of the CDF. The Human Systems Federation has granted us an opportunity to see how they patrol one of their systems in the hopes that they will be able to aid us in patrolling our own and help us to eliminate threats to mutual security. What you see behind me is what the humans call a light carrier, it is a mid sized capital ship used for scouting and policing actions and for carrying reserves during major fleet operations. Our fighter wings will deploy mixed in with the human wings to scout for and eliminate hostile ships in this system. I cannot stress the importance of setting a good example for the humans, they are a peaceful, but powerful ally. I will take a few questions, since I'm sure you have some concerns about this operation."

The crewmen and pilots were speechless, they looked at each other and at the massive ship outside. Pepper looked on, a bit discouraged.

"Very well, if there are no questions, I will now take volunteers to go over to the human ship. I will have 5, and I will select them if necessary." Two pilots raised their hands and stepped forward, then another. Pepper was two short and decided to pick based on flight performance. The handpicked pilots stepped forward, visibly nervous.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you now represent the CDF to the humans. Their commanding officer has told me you will be treated as equals while on board and I look forward to hearing about your experience. The frequency of the _Ardennes_ fighter com network has been set on your ships and you should be able to follow their carrier landing procedures. I wish you all the very best." Pepper saluted the pilots as they walked out to the hangar and launched toward the human ship. The smaller Cornerian fighters mixed with the larger human ships and, after a few joint maneuvers in formation, landed on the carriers flat upper deck where they were lowered into the ship.

A shuttle had been sent from the human ship to the Cornerian carrier with several officers onboard. The human entourage mingled with the Cornerian crew, talking patrol routes and recent events. Krystal looked at the Cornerians expressions, she may have been one of the only people onboard that had seen a human before. The humans kept the conversation light, laughing, shaking hands, and swapping war stories.

Once the patrol got underway, the two ships started at the innermost planets and worked their way out, stopping at Alpha III to resupply. Pepper had given Krystal a salute and a handshake, after that she was flown out to the station and dropped off. The station itself was a massive, crowded, maze of cavernous chambers, there were Cornerians, but the humans outnumbered them greatly. She decided to start looking for a ship, hopefully her credits were good out here. There weren't any vendors with Cornerian ships, and she couldn't go back to Lylat with a human ship. She finally settled on what appeared to be a human version of an Airwing called the ADF. Endorsed by Falco Lombardi? It looked like they had reverse engineered the ship and used it to compare to their own. The price was right, they took Cornerian credits, and her new ship was now docked in bay 43, deck 12.

As Krystal started walking toward her ship her mind raced, could Miri still be somewhere on this station? How would she find her? She started inspecting her ship, not bad. The humans didn't copy the ship exactly, but it was close enough to fly through Lylat and her nav chip hooked right up. The biggest difference was the humans had removed the weapons and swapped the standard g-diffuser drives with their own powerplants, though they looked almost identical. Krystal began looking for something to eat while on the station, it was a long trip back and she needed time to think. She asked around and found there were 2 places that served Cornerian meals. She made her way up to the lounge and sat down at a table.

"I'm actually sitting in a bar and no one is coming over to offer to buy me a drink." She was almost disappointed. She looked around, most of the patrons were human or Cornerians talking to humans.

"What will you have miss?" a voice came from behind her. She turned around to see a young Cornerian girl dressed in a white shirt and black trousers with a pen and paper in hand.

"Just a glass of water right now."

"Right away." The girl walked off, she seemed so upbeat. For the most part, the station was pretty upbeat. After all the war and misery in Lylat this was probably a change of pace for the Cornerians here. The girl had come back with her water.

"Anything else?" she said with a smile. Krystal thought a moment, then stopped the waitress from walking away.

"What do you think of it here? How do the humans treat you?"

"Well." she said. "It's ok here, there are alot of humans and most of them are really nice. My parents brought my brother and I out here after the war with the Anglars, we lost everything we had in the fighting and dad was given a chance to start over here. Mom and dad are doing well working on the station and my brother is enrolled in some kind of joint operations team or something. Me, I just bus tables and go to school. What about you?"

"The first time I met a human," Krystal hesitated. "He saved my life."

"Really?" the waitress said. "I completely freaked when I met one, he just walked up and said hello like it was nothing. I still kind of jump when one gets too close."

"I'm looking for someone on this station. Have you seen a gray wolf with a scar over her eye?" The waitress paused for a moment, then spoke.

"I have. She's works at the other Cornerian place down on one of the lower decks. I can't remember the name. There aren't many bad parts of the station, the humans keep it pretty nice, but that place is one of them. She worked here for awhile, but I think management asked her to go. She was really quiet and shy, I think it made the customers uncomfortable."

"Thank you." Krystal nodded and smiled. She slipped away from the table and out the door. The other place, called Anglar's Dive, was just as the waitress described it. It was all Cornerian, full of filthy crewmen, lowlifes, and some stench she didn't recognize. It was something the humans called whiskey. She sat down at a table and surveyed the room. Two glasses of foul smelling whiskey slid across the table, she looked over to see a couple of men at the next table waving and blowing kisses, just like old times. She continued to look around. Standing infront of a booth in the corner was a gray wolf. She was dressed in white button down shirt that was stained and tore in several places, a very short skirt and black knee high boots. The pigs at the table were giving her a hard time, whistling and grabbing at her backside. She turned around, her arms folded holding the tray across her chest. She didn't look anything like the picture Jack had, she was hunched over slightly and walked with a limp, her long black hair was a tangled mess, her fur ragged and unkempt. She had one piercing blue eye, the other was missing, just a lump of pink flesh and what looked like the head of a rivet in the socket. She limped away from the table and back toward the kitchen.

"Well aren't you a pretty young thing?" an old woman's voice said. "Not the best place for a gal like you to sit down if you're looking for peace and quiet. This bunch is a bit too rowdy." It was one of the other waitresses.

"I was looking for someone, a gray wolf with a scar over one eye." Krystal told the woman, "I think that was her over there."

"Miri?" the woman said, "She's been here for a couple of months now, good kid but she's got a terrible past. You can look at her and see it, not just the scars but in the way she carries herself. It's like she's broken and dead inside. The owner makes the younger girls dress like that to try and get more of the spacing crewmen to drink here, she's the only one that's put up with it so far. I don't know what she's done to put herself through all this. She doesn't talk to anyone, just goes home after work and locks the door. I don't think she has any friends or family."

"I need to sit down and talk with her. I've found someone who's worried about her and looking for her."

"I don't think she wants to be found dearie," The woman shook her head. "She's buried herself in the deepest pit on this station for a reason. But I hate seeing a young girl waste away like that, so if you think you can get her living life again, I'll tell her you're out here."

"Please do." Krystal watched as the old woman stumbled through the tightly packed tables and back toward the kitchen. A few minutes later Miri came out again carrying food for the booth in the corner. The crewmen went back to grabbing at her as soon as she was within arm's reach. She struggled to put the plates on the table and back away, as she turned around one of the patrons grabbed her tail and pulled her back into his lap. She gasped and struggled to get back to her feet, the man's arms wrapping tightly around her torso. Krystal had seen enough and went to draw her blaster. Just then a gruff voice yelled from the back of the kitchen and the men released her. She walked over to Krystal's table and sat down, her body shaking.

"Look, I know I'm behind on the payments." she spoke with her head down. "My rent keeps going up and my pay isn't, nobody tips down here. I'm scraping leftovers off the plates to stay alive, I am making as much as I can without selling organs or worse. I can't come up with the payments any faster."

"I'm not here to collect Miri." Krystal held out her hand. "I just wanted to talk to you."

"I'm on break for another 10 minutes." she said, "So say whatever it is you're going to say. I don't tell scar stories, and I'm not interested in joining your church."

"What happened to you?" Krystal reached out with her other hand. "I talked with a girl at the other restaurant."

"I don't talk about, with anyone." Miri put her head down again. "I'm sorry. I'd get off this station and go somewhere else but I'm afraid too fly. Last transport I was attacked, I can't even set foot in a ship now."

"I'm sorry." Krystal looked in her eye. "I could take you anywhere you wanted to go." Krystal reached in her pocket, pulled out the coin Jack had given her, and placed it on the table. Miri looked at the coin, it's green gem, the flashing red light inside and the image of the ship etched on one side. Her eyes widened and her hand started to shake. She dropped the coin on the table and put her head down.

"I don't know how you got that, but I know that ship." she mumbled into the table and reached into her shirt, pulling out a small pendant and putting it on the table. "It was the last message I took from him, that picture of a wreck floating in space. Before I walked out. I thought he had lost his mind. Did he actually get it working again?" Krystal took the pendant and examined it. She pressed a button on the side and it projected a flickering image on the table. It scrolled through several dozen pictures of Jack and Miri together before stopping on the wreck of the _Prospect _and going out again.

"He gave it to me so I could find him again." Krystal said, Miri had lifted her head again, looking at the coin, she clenched it tightly. "He saved my life. He did something for me I didn't think could be done. He's a good soul, more than anyone who crosses paths with him would realize."

"I know." Miri shook her head, "I can't let him know I'm here living like this. I stepped out of his home thinking there was this world waiting for me and I could be part of it again if I just stopped waiting for him. But there's nothing, and I don't want him to know that."

"He misses you deeply." Krystal held Miri's hand, "But he understands why you left."

"He could have come for me, he said if I was in trouble he'd come and help. I've been in trouble since I left and he never came."

"He didn't want to keep you down. He knew you deserved better." Krystal had sat back in her chair. "I saw the rings, Cerinian aren't they?"

"I think that's what the guy called them." she answered. "I got them from someone that lived in the colony Jack took me to after he found me. How did you know?"

"I'm Cerinian," Krystal leaned forward in her chair. "I can't believe you'd just up and walk out after all you've been through."

"I know, I didn't want to, but he was gone all the time, and I didn't like alone on that planet. I walked out on the one good thing that's happened in my life, the only person I have ever met that really cared about me." Miri stared at the floor.

"I saw the news report," Krystal said. "The hijacked transport ship and the list of passengers with your name, and a last name I couldn't read. It's his last name isn't it?"

"It's not what you think." Miri shook her head, "I needed a place to stay while I waited to get on a transport back to Corneria, so I took his last name and used it to rent out an apartment. He didn't know about it, I was wrong to do that and I'm getting what I deserve." she handed the coin back to Krystal. "I can't go anyway, station security won't let me go until my debts are paid up. Even if I could leave, I breakdown as soon as I get near the airlock of a ship."

"What kind of debts do you have?" Krystal said, "Maybe I can clear them up for you."

"7500 credits for bills and past due rent on my previous apartment. I can't expect anyone to get me out of this. I'm paying it off slowly but I'm not making enough money for it to mean anything, I have to have a place to live and they keep raising my rent." Miri shook her head, "It all went bad when I lost the other waitress job. The pay and the environment were so much better there. I just couldn't be the person they wanted me to, they said I made the customers uncomfortable." Krystal looked at her finances, she had just bought that ship and there wasn't enough to cover Miri's debt.

"I can't help you right now." Krystal took her hand again, "I just don't have enough. I think I can get you out of here if you'll let me."

"What are you planning? I'm not going to break the law." Miri looked up, "I don't need anymore trouble."

"No, I'm going back to my ship and calling out to Jack."

"Don't call him here!" Miri stood up from the table. "I have to go now. I told you I don't want him seeing me like this." she stormed back toward the kitchen. Krystal got up and started walking toward the door. She couldn't let Miri go on like this, she won't last here. She headed back to her ship and flipped on the com system, pulling the coin from her pocket as it powered up. The light inside the coin's green gem glowed brightly, she clicked it once. Her nav computer came up with a star map, the _Prospect_ was not in Alpha system. She clicked the gem five times as instructed, the light inside glowed brightly and began to pulse. It took the ship several days to reach her, but Jack had let her know when he entered the system. Krystal decided to undock and meet the _Prospect_ in space. It jumped out of warp and slowly made it's way into orbit around the Io station, a trail of debris following in it's wake.

"That didn't take long." Jack's voice came over her com. "I wasn't expecting you to call at all to be honest."

"We need to talk." Krystal said.


	5. Chapter 5

**Part 5**

The ship's one operational hangar opened it's doors and Krystal made her way inside. Jack had been standing on deck waiting for her to dock. He looked alot better than the time she left him, his wounds were healed or at least very well covered.

"I'm taking a big risk coming this close to the station. The station's dockmaster doesn't care for this ship."

"I can't imagine why, it's like an abstract work of art." Krystal joked.

"The tractor beams they use to pull the ships into dock use zero point fields that pull on parts of the ship like thousands of tiny fingers. They tend to break off parts of the ship and fling them into the docking bays."

"On my, I can see how that could be a problem." Krystal said. "I found Miri, she's working in a pub on one of the lower decks of the station. She's miserable, afraid, and sickly. The patrons there abuse her and she's buried in debt to the point where she'll never get out. I can't help her."

"You know she won't let me help her." Jack put his hand on Krystal's shoulder. "You really should have made it back to Lylat and forgot about what went on out here."

"She needs to be on this ship with you, besides, the CDF took my ship as soon as I entered Lylat and then dumped me here. If you hadn't forwarded that information to them I wouldn't be standing here right now. Wolf had created this image of me as some kind of murdering psychopath, I was going to be locked away for a long time."

"Glad I could help, again. I see you found one of our old ADFs. That's about as close to a Cornerian ship as you're likely to find out here."

"What is an ADF?" she asked. "And why are you building Cornerian ships out here?"

"Atmospheric Defense Fighter." he replied, "We thought we had found something with the Lylat Airwings, they were ships that did well in space and atmospheric flight and we wanted to see if we could combine our power plants and the Cornerian ship design to make a multi-purpose fighter. Our ships are very good in space but can't maneuver in the atmosphere as well. HSF spotted one of the Airwings piloted by Falco Lombardi, a freelance mercenary. He graciously let us use his ship to craft a prototype, but the design was substandard at best. They were useful for getting into and out of Lylat when we needed to track someone or do recon, but the hull design just didn't allow for the modifications we needed to make them effective flyers. When compared to an Airwing, the ADF is faster, maneuvers better and is better shielded. When up against our ships it is out classed in every respect, even the old Ravager class ship I have is superior, and it's a 300 year old design. So the project was deemed a failure and the test prototypes went up for sale as civilian craft. Mr. Lombardi and a couple of local merchants got together and bought them all and have been selling them with his name for awhile now. They've had their power choked back a bit to better match the Airwings, I can correct that for you if you'd like."

"No." Krystal looked at him folding her arms, "I need you to go find Miri and get her out of that hole she's in. We can talk about my ship when you're done."

"Giving orders now are we?" he walked toward her ship.

"Just keeping you on task." she said, smiling.

The _Prospect_ docked with Io station, showering the docking bay in loose parts and debris. Jack and Krystal made their way into the lower Cornerian controlled decks. Krystal felt more and more uncomfortable as she went along. The local population was not human friendly in this part of the station and traveling through it with a human attracted some stares and more than a few nasty comments. Jack seemed to shrug it off, even when confronted directly he didn't let them upset him. They made their way to Anglar's Dive and stopped outside.

"I think you should wait here." Krystal said, "I'll go inside and see if I can't get Miri to come out and talk with you."

"You do realize that once you go in there 15 people are going to jump me." he pointed to the small groups assembling on the other side of the corridor. Krystal nodded and they tried to go inside together. At the door, one of the Cornerians stopped Krystal.

"You can't take that in here, no humans." he said as he put his arm across the door. Krystal tried to plead her case but the guard wasn't listening to her. Jack stepped up and tried to enter, the guard shoved him back before yelling at him to leave.

"I don't think you understand what's going on here." Jack grinned as he spoke to the guard, "This is a human station in a human system. You're the guest not me." he pulled a small card from his pocket. "And as a member of the HSFs core task force, I have access to any part of the station, no questions asked. Or I can flush you out the nearest airlock and hope your replacement understands that."

"Even better." the guard muttered. "This place is crawling with people that hate the HSF authorities. If you want to go in there and get your ass kicked, please don't let me stop you. I'd like to get in a few kicks myself." Jack and Krystal walked into the bar and sat down at a table near the entrance, the place went silent with all eyes staring their way. Jack pulled out his weapon and placed it on the table, drumming his fingers across the barrel. The patrons returned to their drinks, the noise level gradually rising to it's previous roar. Miri hadn't been on the floor when Jack entered and couldn't see him as she made her rounds. Krystal went to her as she made a return trip to the kitchen. Jack had moved from the table to an empty booth near the back of the room.

"You've certainly cleaned up.' she said as Miri turned around.

"After you left I did some thinking." Miri looked at Krystal. "I knew you would come back, and I knew you would bring him here."

"I did." Krystal said, "He's here now, at the back in a corner booth. He's trying to keep a low profile until we can get out of here."

"You really shouldn't have come today, the crew from _Andross Revenge_ is here." Miri motioned over her right shoulder to a table of pigs that looked like the ones that were giving her trouble the last time Krystal was in. "They tend to get a little too grabby when they get liquored up. You saw what they did the last time you were in here. I can't stop them, the captain is friends with the owner here, as long as they don't take it too far, he lets them get away with it. The owner knows I can't leave the station, so I have to put up with it."

"Well I'm not going to stand here and watch it." Krystal said, arms folded, "And I doubt Jack's come all this way to see you hurt."

"Then you'll end up fighting the entire bar." she looked around, "The crew of _Andross Revenge _are almost folk heroes in this part of the station, they're one of the few ships that survived the pirate uprising when the humans first came to this part of space. I need to get back to work, my shift is up in an hour. I'll meet with Jack then." Miri started walking off toward the kitchen.

"I don't think we're leaving." Krystal pointed to the booth where Jack was sitting, several rough looking Cornerians had moved into the U shaped booth and boxed him in. He was sitting calmly, drumming his fingers on the table as they harassed him. The Cornerian to his right pulled a knife and raised it to Jack's face, he looked on, staring off into the room. The Cornerian drew back and prepared to stab just as Jack twisted the knife from his hand and plunged it into the table, grabbing the Cornerian's head with his other hand and slamming his nose down on the knife handle. The Cornerian threw his head back and grasped his nose, shaking violently as Jack tossed him to the side knocking him and the crewmen seated next to him out of the booth and onto the floor. Jack slid around the table and kicked it toward the other two crewmen still seated in shock over what just happened, covering them in broken plates and uneaten food. The force of the table knocked the wind out of the two crewmen and they collapsed in the seat gasping for breath. The Cornerian who had been knocked to the floor has managed to get free from his injured crewmate and pulled his blaster. Jack tossed a nearby glass of whiskey in his face and wrestled the blaster from his hand, striking the Cornerian on the head with it and dropping him to the floor.

By now the entire bar was ready to fight just as station security stormed in. They took the four Cornerian crewmen and Jack out of the bar and began questioning the patrons. After a few minutes they left and Jack was forced to wait outside for Krystal and Miri. He stood near the entrance and leaned on the wall. Back inside, things were returning to normal and Krystal found a seat to wait for Miri. The crewmen from _Andross Revenge_ were being rowdy but hadn't laid a hand on Miri until the captain grabbed her tail and pulled her into his lap. She screamed and struggled but the gruff voice that had stopped the captain before never came. He began fumbling with the buttons on Miri's shirt as she struggled to get loose. Krystal had seen enough and decided to step in. She walked over to the table and interrupted the captain.

"I don't think she likes that." she said.

"I don't think she has a choice, her and I are about to get better acquainted." The captain said smugly, "Maybe you'd like a ride next."

"Maybe you'd like me to get my friend back in here," Krystal pointed to the knife sticking out of the table. "He can give you a nose job like that other fellow." The captain released Miri and she jumped to her feet, he slapped her backside and sat back in his chair.

"Get me some more booze wolfie." the captain grunted. "and be quick about it, I don't want my buzz wearing off before we drag foxy here out on her ass." She limped off toward the kitchen as the crew of _Andross Revenge_ stood up and surrounded Krystal. Miri turned and bolted toward the front door. She yelled for Jack as the crewmen grabbed Krystal from behind and tossed her to the floor. She reached for her weapon but one of the crewmen stomped her hand, knocking the weapon away before placing his boot on her throat and pinning her to the ground. She struggled with the crewman as his shipmates restrained her and the captain drew his weapon. Jack had managed to get past the guard and back into the bar where he rushed into the fight. He approached the captain and was now standing directly behind him.

"Drop it, now." he said sternly. The captain ignored his command and pointed his weapon at Krystal's head. Jack grabbed at the captain's hand, wrestling the blaster free from his grip and drawing his own weapon as the captain struggled to turn around. Jack grabbed the captain and put his weapon to his head. The other crewmen had turned their attention away from Krystal and began to approach Jack, still holding their captain at gunpoint. He turned and yelled at Krystal. "Krystal, get Miri and go, now!" Krystal struggled to get to her feet, she grabbed Miri's hand and started to run for the door. As they made their way outside Krystal and Miri heard shattering glass and blaster fire. The remaining patrons stumbled out the door in a panic as station security rushed in. When it finally quieted down the bar's owner walked outside with station security.

"I ought to kill you both," he sneered, "You stupid bitches and that damn human killed my best patrons." He looked at Miri, "I thought I paid you enough, all you had to do was get them drunk and play along. I didn't let things get out of hand, I'm not running a brothel down here or anything. Don't come back here, in fact, don't come anywhere near me or this bar." Jack had come out of the doorway, covered in broken glass and whiskey. He stumbled over to Krystal and Miri as the bar's owner stormed off, pushing him to the side as he went.

"Are you alright?" Krystal asked.

"Yeah, you got out of there just in time, they took a couple of shots at the door when you were running out. I did my best with the crew, all but one of them are down. A couple of the other guys jumped in and got me while I was finishing off the captain, one of them stuck me in the leg. I thought things were about to get out of hand, then station security showed up." He looked at Miri but didn't say anything. She quickly looked at the floor and stepped back. Station security took all three of them aside and began to question them. Krystal told them of Miri and the harassment she witnessed and tried to stop, Miri told the same story, and Jack told them he had gone back in to break up the fight and wound up fighting again. After questioning the other patrons, station security let them go and they began walking toward the docking bay.

"You seem to be able to get out of trouble with with station security easily." Krystal said to Jack.

"It's part of my job," he looked at her and smiled. "I have to spend alot of my time in this area of the station and there's always trouble. Station security is pretty easy going when it comes to fights, especially when the guy who starts it gets what he deserves. They aren't going to spend too much time on a drunken brawl when everyone tells the same story, and if all else fails I just tell them I'm a CSU and no one asks anymore questions." Miri didn't say a word and tried to look away from Jack as they walked into the docking bay, she still had her bar outfit on. Station security stopped Miri and pulled her aside.

"Miss." the guard said, "You have an outstanding debt of 7500 credits. I cannot allow you into the docking bay until the debt is paid in full." Jack walked over to the guard and swiped a card on the reader near his post. The guard looked at his screen. "Go on, you're free to leave."

"What did you just do?" Miri looked at Jack.

"Paid off your debts," He looked at her and smiled. "and it's good to see you again Miri."

"Dammit." she scolded, "Why couldn't I do things on my own? I didn't want you here and I didn't want you involved in my problems." she looked at Jack and shook her head. "I didn't want you to see me this way. I'm not much better off than when you found me the first time."

"It doesn't matter Miri." he put his hands on her shoulders. "I should have come back here a long time ago, as soon as I found out where you were. I didn't know things were so bad. You didn't deserve to be left like this."

"I think I deserve it," she put her arms around him and squeezed tightly. "But I want to go, please. If you'll take me, I want to go."

"That's what I came here to do." Jack looked at her and smiled. "Looks like we'll have to get you another implant, why'd you take it out?"

"I had some whiskey splashed in my face and it got behind the implant and was burning, so I took it out to clean it. I went to get something to eat at the soup kitchen down the hall while I waited for it to dry off. While I was gone, my apartment was robbed, they took everything." Miri said, "Not that there was much in there to steal, all I have now is what I'm wearing."

"The electronics they use in those replacement eyes are very valuable, they disappear all the time. We'll get you a new one." Jack turned to Krystal. "That was very bold of you, sticking up for Miri like that. I owe you, let me take you back to Lylat so you can find your old squadron." Krystal thought about Fox and the others, where would she even begin looking.

"I have no idea where to find them." she shook her head, "I can't tell you where to begin."

"I'll call in a few favors if you'll give me some names."

"Only one, Fox McCloud." Jack nodded and after a stop at the station's infirmary to get his leg stitched they made their way onboard the _Prospect. _Miri had taken the time in the infirmary to get a replacement eye, she walked over to Jack holding a fist sized metallic box. Inside was a plain white sphere with a small metal stem attached to it and a stylus. Jack held up the sphere and touched the stylus to it, the sphere cycled through several colors before stopping and flashing black and white. He held the shpere up to MIri's eye and touched the stylus to it, the shpere flickered and took on the appearance of MIri's eye. He pulled Miri's hair back from the empty socket and placed the implant into it. She dropped some solution onto the surface of the implant and blinked a few times, then looked at Krystal. Krystal was amazed the false eye looked identical to the real one and even moved in time with the other. The trio boarded Jack's ship, they pulled out of the docking bay and set a course for Lylat. Jack went to the bridge and brought up the ship's com system, Miri and Krystal followed.

"_DLC_ _Ardennes," _he said into the com, "This is CSU Orion requesting a trace."

"Go ahead Orion." a voice answered back.

"I'm looking for a Cornerian, probably hangs out in Lylat, in his late 20's last name is McCloud, first name is Fox."

"What is the nature of the trace?" the voice asked.

"He seems like a good candidate for our joint squadron ops, he's a former merc and a respected pilot."

"Standby." there was a pause. A few minutes later the voice came back. "Looks like he's been doing a bit of freelance work, cargo runs from planet to planet inside Lylat, nothing serious and nothing recent. His ship, an old Cornerian carrier, was last seen orbiting Macbeth, it's been there for several months. Do you need to have a contact set up?"

"Negative, I have a contact that can go planetside."

"Very good Orion, I have news for you from fleet command as well." the voice paused, "Your request for joint squadron operations was accepted pending the outcome of our patrol operations in Lylat Alpha system. Your request to place _Fortune's Prospect_ in drydock for repairs has also been approved."

"Good news, I was getting tired of the flying scrapheap comments. How's the patrol going?" Jack asked.

"Very well. We managed to recover 6 missing pilots from a scout patrol that went missing in Lylat but we've hit a bit of a snag. The Cornerian carrier was heavily damaged in a pirate assault and the crew had to be offloaded to our ship while repairs are being made. No casualties, but the ship is down for several days at least. It's tethered to the upper deck until we can get to drydock."

"Wait, you can just call up and get information on anyone?" Krystal was dumbfounded.

"No," Jack replied. "I need to have a reason. I can't just stalk people through the shipnet. We've got probes all over Lylat, tracking ship movements and feeding information to the CDF when we feel it's necessary. We've got our man, so now all you have to do is go to Macbeth and meet up with Fox."

"I suppose." Krystal hesitated. "I'd like to know he'll actually talk to me before I travel all that way though."

"I can use the _Prospect'_s jump drive to get us near the planet, I can keep a low profile so the CDF won't notice me. We can be in and out in a hurry if we need to."

"How are you going to keep a low profile in this?" Krystal asked.

"One of the many modifications I've planned for this ship is a cloaking device. I can use it when I'm away from the ship in a hostile system. It's not perfect, if something gets within 2km it drops, but it will hide the ship from sensors and makes visual contact very difficult. I'm going to drydock her before we try and run to Lylat, if we are spotted, I at least want her to look respectable." Jack plotted a course for the HSF naval facility orbiting Alpha II and docked the _Prospect. _The ship was laid up for over a week while the station's automated drones worked to repair the damage she had taken from drifting in the asteroid field, though Jack insisted the ship retain some of it's "character" to help keep the appearance of an old mining vessel. Eventually, the ship was restored to full working order and it's mineral holds converted to hangars for a squadron of fighters. After the _Prospect _was fitted and resupplied they began their trip to the Lylat system.

Krystal had taken the downtime to learn a bit more about the humans and looked for any information they may have had on the destruction of her homeworld. Jack had given her a translator that took an image of human text and translated it to Cornerian so she could read the reports. There was an entry for an impact event in a nearby system the humans called Becker1314, but that was the only thing even close to what she remembered, she'd have to ask Jack about it later. Miri had recovered from her ordeal in Anglar's Dive now maintained a much cleaner healthier appearance as well as a more respectable wardrobe, a grey v neck shirt and black trousers, identical to Krystal's. When it was time to make the jump into Lylat, Krystal scouted ahead and signaled for the _Prospect_ to make it's jump into the system. The ship cleared the swirling vortex of the jump portal and promptly engaged it's cloak. They arrived at Macbeth and entered a high orbit around the planet, sighting the Great Fox 2 drifting silently in space.


	6. Chapter 6

**Part 6**

"What a mess, Fox has really let that ship go." Krystal said as they approached the Great Fox 2 drifting silently. The old Cornerian carrier was damaged and battered, it's lights out and thrusters cold.

"We call the carriers like that soda cans." Jack told her. "There's almost no armor of any kind, they might as well be made of sheet metal."

"What if he doesn't want to talk, or trust me?" Krystal asked.

"Well, I can't go down there and ask him myself now can I?" Jack replied

"No, I guess you can't." she shook her head, "I still don't know about this. We don't even know if he's on the planet. I'd feel alot better if I didn't have to go alone."

"I could convince Miri to go with you if you want. This isn't a dangerous operation. The worst thing that could happen is he says no and walks away. She's been on a human planet though, not that anyone would know that."

"You're right, I'd feel alot better if Miri went along. Maybe she could get an idea of how he feels about me." A ship crossed directly in the _Prospect's_ path, it was an Airwing. It banked and headed for the carrier, it's hangar doors opening slowly.

"Guess we don't have to go down to the planet, he's dropped in on us." Jack walked over to the communications console. "I'll see if I can get him before he docks... No response, either he's ignoring me or he's running silent. Let's try again."

"What?" A familiar voice echoed through the room. "Who is this and what do you want?"

"Miri, if you could talk to him for me, see if you can get him to let us send a ship over."

"Mr. McCloud." Miri said into the com. "My name is Miri and I represent an individual interested in purchasing your services, he's been told you're one of the best pilots in the system."

"You've got the wrong person," The Airwing stopped short of the carrier's hangar doors, "My name's Falco. Fox is on board the carrier, what do you want?."

"The individual I represent was very specific, he wants speak with Fox McCloud about a job. A former associate of his, Krystal, spoke very highly of him."

"Did you say Krystal?" Falco's voice stuttered. "You know where she is?"

"I do, perhaps we can discuss it." Miri said nervously, "I can't say too much more over an open channel."

"I'm not sure we can trust her. She's done alot of bad things. She's working for this guy too?"

"No, she was never given an invitation." Miri responded, "She and my employer have a brief history, but she recommended Fox by name, so here we are."

"Let me dock and talk to Fox about it." Falco said, "If you're willing to meet me on the carrier."

"He wants me to go over there." Miri said to Jack. "I can't fly a ship."

"Since he's not on the planet, we can all go over. I'd like to get a firsthand look inside Cornerian Carrier anyway. I'll to go around to the other side of the moon to uncloak so we can launch Krystal's ship. Tell him we'll be right over."

"Mr. Falco, we will be over shortly." Miri said.

Falco had docked his ship and met with Fox, Falco told Fox of the strange message he had gotten on his way back from the planet. Krystal, Jack, and Miri made their way to the Great Fox 2 and docked with the ship. Most of the ship's power was out and the halls were lit by dying emergency lighting. Krystal led the group through the maze of passages and junk that cluttered the interior until they came to the briefing room near the center of the ship. Jack waited down the hall while Krystal and Miri made their way to the briefing room to meet with Fox, who was getting an earful from Falco standing in the doorway.

"Fox are you crazy? Do you remember how she treated you when she was working for Wolf?" Falco yelled, "This is Krystal, the one that worked for Star Wolf, the one that twisted the knife after she stuck it in our backs. The one that went crazy and had every bounty hunter in Lylat looking for her. For all we know this is another setup."

Fox was sitting back in his chair with his feet propped up on far end of the briefing room table. His hands were folded across his chest and a magazine covered his face, the cover showed the Star Wolf team, sans Krystal, with the headline "Heroes!" He spoke to Falco from under it.

"This is the same Krystal I kicked off the team because I was afraid. The same one I've regretted letting go ever since." Fox peeked out from under the magazine at Falco, "She was different the last time I saw her, but it's been a long time and I might not get another chance to really sit down and talk to her."

"Oh yeah, I'm really looking forward to this. Listening to her put you down some more is just what I want to hear." Falco said as he stood up and turned to face Miri as she came up behind him. Krystal had heard part ot their conversation and darted down the hall visibly shaken.

"Mr. Falco, I may be able to convince my employer to take both of you on if you're interested. I'm sure he'd be interested if your talents are anywhere near Mr. McCloud's." Miri said as she walked back toward Jack who had stepped out from around the corner and walked toward the doorway.

"Man a human in Lylat, this isn't good. This better be worth our time." he said pointing Jack.

"Is this the guy?" Jack said pointing to Fox who was still sitting in his chair, unaware of what was going on in the hall just outside the room. "You could have swapped the term "ace pilot" with "out of work bum" and I would have been ok with it." Krystal peeked out from the end of the hall and nodded but did not speak, her hands were shaking as she slowly backed down the hall. Jack followed her and motioned for Miri to talk to Fox.

"I can assure you." Miri said to Falco, "It's worth your time, my employer represents a large and well organized faction based outside Lylat and is looking for mercenary pilots to fly missions for him." Falco's eyes widened, he leaned over and whispered in Miri's ear.

"You want us to fly missions for the humans?"

"That should be obvious by this point." she looked at him and smiled.

"I'll talk to Fox, he'll want to know this. Krystal or no, this changes everything."

"Very good then," Miri said with a smile, "We'll be waiting for you in the hangar."

Fox looked up from under the magazine, he was now sitting upright and just caught a glimpse of Miri as she stepped back from the doorway. "Who was that?" he said looking at Falco. Falco waited until Miri had disappeared around the corner before walking over and speaking to Fox in a hushed voice.

"Remember when I left Star Fox after the Aparoid war? How I said I had seen things I couldn't talk about?"

"Yeah, those were some strange times when you came back too." Fox patted him on the back, "It almost humbled you. Almost."

"That girl is working for one of those things I can't talk about." Falco spoke in a whisper, "If it's true, we need to be very careful how we approach this. These guys don't play games, if they are the ones looking for us, it's big and it might be worth looking into."

"So you want to talk to them?" Fox looked at Falco, "I'm ok with just walking away if you have a bad feeling. Even if it means walking away from Krystal."

"No, I think we should look into it." Falco said, "I just want to make sure it's the real deal before we agree to anything. I know the questions to ask, things you don't." Fox nodded and they made their way to the hangar.

Jack boarded the ship while Krystal and Miri stayed in the hangar to wait for Fox and Falco who made their way down to meet them. Krystal had come face to face with Fox for the first time in years. Neither of them spoke, staring at the ground and shuffling their feet. Falco decided to break the silence.

"So, what's the deal?" He said to Miri, "I'm a very busy and very wealthy man. Your employer better be ready to put up some serious credits if he wants the best."

"Payment comes on a per mission basis." she told Falco, "Also, the individuals you are going after forfeit their possessions to us after they are captured or killed. The more missions we run, the better the payout. In addition, all your ship maintenance, housing, meals, and other expenses are covered as part of our contract."

"So we get paid from the bad guys wallets? I'm not sure I like that, too many variables." Falco thought a moment, "But not having any other expenses might make it worthwhile. You can count me in."

"You give us ships?" Fox asked. "I take it you've got something better than an Airwing?"

"Everything we have available is better than an Airwing." Miri responded.

"Fox, I know you and I have had a rough couple of years." Krystal spoke, "And I'm sorry for what happened, I was wrong to do what I did. I said some terrible things to you that I didn't really mean. I was upset, hurt, and I know that doesn't excuse what I did, I will tell you I've paid for it one hundred times over already. Wolf wants me dead, or back on his team, and I have no interest in going back to that life. I'd rather fly with you again, or not at all."

"Krystal." Fox looked at her, "I was wrong to kick you off the team, I was being selfish and I know it hurt you. But what you did to us could have gotten all of us killed, I don't know if you realized that at the time, Wolf is dangerous company, he always has been. I won't lie to you, what you said hurt me, and it's going to take some time for me to trust you again. I'm not sure I'm ready to drop what I'm doing and run off."

"I didn't expect you to speak to me at all. I'm glad you did though, it's good to see you again. I am here because I was the one who gave Miri's employer your name. Please don't consider my being here in your decision. The individual looking at hiring you is doing this for the right reasons, he is a good person and can be trusted, even if you think I cannot."

"Fox." Falco said, "I think we should go for it, I mean you and I haven't had a job in months and there's nothing for a solo pilot to do in Lylat anymore. We'd have plenty of time to check this guy out and decide if it's a way to go or not. Besides, life around here is getting boring without the team. Don't you want to go back to the old days and see some real action? I got all this talent going to waste here."

"I guess we could." Fox turned to Miri, "What do we need to do?"

"My employer has a ship parked on the far side of Macbeth's moon, you only need to approach the ship and he'll let you on board." Miri gave Fox and Falco the coordinates and left with Krystal and Jack. A few hours later, Fox and Falco made their way to the far side of Macbeth's moon and approached the cloaked _Fortune's Prospect_.

"Yeah, I don't see a ship out here." Falco said, "If this is some kind of joke I am not amused." Krystal had given Jack the all clear to open the hangar and allow them to dock just as Falco began to turn his ship away. Jack opened the ship's hangar doors, breaking the cloak and revealing the _Prospect._

"Ok, that's a first. I've never seen a ship like that before." Falco said. Another voice jumped in as they prepared to dock with the _Prospect_.

"Unidentified ship, state your purpose in this system. Right now or I'll be forced to shoot." the female voice chirped. "This isn't a warning."

"Oh no," Falco sighed, "Katt, this is private business. You need to get out of here now. What are you doing out here anyway?"

"I don't think so." Katt replied, "You're not leaving me out of this one Falco. Besides, you know I'm never too far away from you."

They docked in the hangar as the ship engaged it's jump drive, making it's way back to the Alpha system and human territory. Katt had been shut out of the hangar as the _Prospect _entered the portal and returned to Alpha system, she was able to follow the ship but the turbulence inside the portal had disabled her engines and she drifted past the _Prospect _facing nearly backward.

"Uhh, guys." she said into the com, "I'm in a bit of trouble here." Falco and the others climbed out of their ships and surveyed the hangar. Falco, seemingly unconcerned with Katt, admired Krystal's new ship. Krystal went to the communications console and tried to reach Jack.

"Jack." she said, "A ship from Lylat followed us through the portal, it's disabled and drifting."

"I see it, do you know the pilot?"

"I do," Falco piped up. "She's harmless, annoying, but harmless." The ship's hangar doors opened and Katt's crippled ship was winched inside. She jumped out of it and ran over to Falco and the others. More concerned with keeping her composure infront of Falco than the condition of her ship.

"This is an ADF," Falco said. "I thought all of these were gone. They're a real kick to fly."

"Glad you like them, Jack has outfitted several for you to use in Lylat, they're in the forward port hangar." Miri looked at the group, "Since we're all here, I guess we should head up to the bridge."

"So what happened with you and Wolf?" Fox asked Krystal, "I saw the reports when you left, I didn't believe what I was hearing. All those people, and the thefts, it didn't sound like you at all. Then there were rumors of you and Panther..."

"Alot of it wasn't true." Krystal walked with her head down, "Wolf had been trying to frame me for the illegal things Star Wolf was doing while working for the CDF. He contracted me through other people to do terrible things, giving me the wrong information so I'd think I was doing the galaxy a favor. I can't begin to tell you the guilt I've felt. The person we're going to meet, Jack, gave me an out finally. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be standing here right now. He helped me get away from Wolf, and he helped clear my name with the CDF, I am as close to free as I've ever been. I owe him a great deal. As for Panther, it didn't work out, that's all I really want to say."

"I'm so sorry Krystal," Fox held her hand as they walked. "I kept thinking it was my fault, I shouldn't have let you go, we needed you."

"I made my own decisions." she said, "Even if they were the wrong ones, I made them. There's no one else to blame. I told Slippy I was different when we met during the war with the Anglars, I didn't tell him it was because I had lost my telepathy." Katt had been eying Miri as they walked toward the ship's bridge, she nudged Falco and pointed to the scars visible on Miri.

"What do you make of that?" she whispered, "Think she's some kind of slave, there's rumors the remnants of Venom's army are stalking Lylat and taking people as slaves."

"I doubt it," Falco said, "I think you should keep quiet for this. You really don't know what you've gotten yourself into." The group stopped at the door to the ship's bridge, it opened and they went inside. Jack was standing infront of the galaxy map Krystal had seen on her last visit to the ship, he turned around and greeted the group.

"As a representative of the Human Systems Federation, let me welcome you on board _DSM Fortune's Prospect. _ You're here because I've been told you're the best your home system has to offer and I'd like to offer you a chance to fight the battles before the war starts." Katt had hid behind Falco and Fox who looked at Jack and the galaxy map with mouths open.

"So, what's this about?" Fox finally asked.

"During the Lylat wars and the Aparoid Invasion," Jack responded, "Your group of mercenary pilots turned the tide of the war in favor of the CDF, it takes an exceptional group of individuals to do such a thing. It's recently come to my attention that elements within the Cornerian government are trying to provoke a conflict between the HSF and the CDF. We can't let this happen. Unfortunately, I can't go into Lylat myself to correct the problem, that's where you come in."

"Wait, you want us to go in and take out Star Wolf?" Falco stepped forward, "Are you insane? The Cornerians aren't going to let us drop in and start shooting at them, we'd be swarmed the moment we got close. I don't really know if we can even trust you."

"No, I want you to stop them from starting a war with the HSF." Jack replied, "Star Wolf is doing plenty to remove themselves from public favor, and I have enough information to keep them on the bad side of the Cornerian government for a long time. All you have to do is get them on the run so they can't do anymore damage. As for trust, I get my orders from the HSF, and I pass them on to you. The HSF is interested in creating and preserving peace and stability in this region, they are not interested in undermining the Cornerian government. We have a treaty with the Cornerians and we do intend to honor it. If anything, the Cornerian government is trying to cause more problems for themselves." Jack began playing a recording of Wolf's speech where he planned to frame Krystal and start a skirmish with the HSF. Fox clenched his fists, Wolf had beaten them after the Anglars but he hadn't changed.

"I think I've seen enough." Fox looked at a nearby screen, scrolling lists of names and descriptions of the things Wolf had done in the name of the CDF. "When do we get started?"

"Introductions are in order first." Jack said. "I'm Jack Roberts, I believe you know Krystal and you've already met Miri, she'll be handling the logistics on the ship. We seem to have taken on more personnel than originally planned, might I ask who two you are?"

"I'm Falco, Fox's friend, we flew together in Star Fox. I'm freelance now."

"I'm Katt Monroe, Falco's friend, I flew with him in a squadron a couple of years ago. Umm.. also freelance."

"I see, you're the same Falco that helped us design the ADF, good to have you aboard." Jack looked at Falco and Katt, then turned to Fox. "Mr. McCloud, are these individuals part of your team?"

"I guess so," Fox said rubbing his head. "Falco and Katt are two of the best pilots in Lylat. Is Krystal part of this too?"

"I'm not sure." Jack said, "It's your team, she didn't have any interest in joining mine."

"I'd be honored to fly with you again Fox." Krystal stepped forward, she turned and looked at Fox. "If I'm welcome."

"Krystal," Fox looked at her and smiled. "I think you know the answer."

"Good, then you should take some time to get acquainted with the ship and it's workings." Jack explained the colored bands on the walls and the ship's room service and automated service facilities for their ships. "Each of you is assigned a cabin on the crew deck, you're more than welcome to customize it any way you wish, the cards I'm giving you now will unlock the doors and give you access to the ships in the forward port hangar. You can access the consoles near your ships and outfit them with any loadout you choose, from weapons and shields to thrusters and targeting systems. The ADFs have a modular design that makes them very flexible and they are far superior to anything in Lylat right now. They can be changed out quickly by the drones in the bay, just select the options you want and hit the red button. Understand that once you take these missions, you are sworn to secrecy, no one in Lylat can know who's providing support for this operation. Should you decide to leave the team, your ship is returned to the HSF and you are not to discuss any of your work here."

"I'm impressed." Falco looked at the others, "This is what your people had in mind when they wanted to study my ship?"

"Not exactly, the project was scrapped after the prototypes couldn't meet the performance requirements. " Jack said, "But they are the closest thing we have to a Cornerian fighter and their modular design makes them easily tailored to fit the mission's needs. You should become comfortable with them very quickly. The first few missions I'll assign you will be team oriented and I may give you individual missions as I become more familiar with your specific skills."

"So you just sit here in the ship and give us orders?" Katt asked. "What are we getting paid for this?"

"No, I won't be just sitting here." Jack told her. "My skills are better spent on the ground in combat, besides I can't touchdown in Lylat. No humans are allowed planet side and I really can't be caught bringing human ships into the system. Once you're in space, Fox is in charge. When I have a job for you in Lylat, I'll open a jump portal into the system and you can fly through it. Once you complete your mission, I will open the portal at the same coordinates and you can return through it. As for your payment, you're not paying anything for the ships, their upkeep, your room and board while on this ship, or any expenses related to travel while on a mission. If it's credits you want, we will be dividing the assets of targeted individuals once they are taken out. I'll also get a payment on a per mission basis from the HSF that I will distribute to you as well. The HSF can't fund you directly without causing problems with the CDF, so they're letting me distribute payment. I'm not doing this for the money or the fame, I'm doing this because it needs to be done and no one else will do it. Doing this solo has paid me very well over the years, I don't see why it won't continue to do so."

"When do we get our first assignment?" Fox asked.

"First mission begins as soon as you feel you're ready." Jack walked over to the galaxy map and brought up Lylat. "We need to let Star Wolf and the local smugglers know we're out there looking for them. I'll jump you into the system near the asteroid belt in Lylat. We've had a couple of smugglers moving human tech into the system from Alpha and we need it stopped before they have an chance to reverse engineer our technology or those weapons make it into the general population. Find the cargo containers in their staging area in the Meteo asteroid field and destroy them and any ships defending them. When you're done, I'll jump you back. Very simple and direct, any questions?"

"Just one." Fox raised his hand. "How is this supposed to help us? We could wind up shooting at CDF forces or members of Star Wolf."

"You're entering the system through a jump portal, which leaves a big energy signature for anyone scanning the system to pickup." Jack pointed at the map. "It's the same signature that the pirates use to track the aid ships coming into the system and every trigger happy freelancer in the system will drop in to wipe you out thinking you're another trade ship. If you run across CDF, don't shoot unless shot at, they really don't have the weapons to penetrate the ADF's shields right away, you don't have to attack unless necessary. It will take some time to regain the favor of the CDF and we need to make sure we don't engage them by mistake."

"I have a question." Katt interrupted. "What's a jump portal and why do your ships all look so rusty?"

"It's not rust." Jack said, obviously annoyed. "The alloys we use in hull armor construction have an uneven bronze tint to them, giving the ship a rusty appearance. The dark color of the hull and the absence of the Cornerian Airwing's glowing engines makes the ADF more difficult to see in space. We can paint them if you want, but it's really just a waste of time and resources. As for the jump portal, it's a bridge between two points in the universe that compacts the distance from light years to kilometers. The swirling edges of the portal are actually the galaxy compressed into a very small area relative to the distance covered. If you were to touch the wall of the portal, you would be stretched out and scattered."

"So how's it work?" Katt fired back.

"The faster than light warp drives work off an electrical current exciting an antimatter core to displace the mass of a ship so it can be accelerated beyond light speed, a jump drive works in a similar way but the power demand is about ten thousand times higher and it uses the antimatter to generate a singularity that draws one point in the universe toward another. I don't have a more detailed explanation on the inner workings of these ships, I just fly them."

"Oh, ok." Katt looked at Jack with glazed eyes.

"I think we've heard enough." Falco said. "Let's get out there."

"Jack, before we go I need to ask you something." Krystal spoke up.

"Go ahead." Jack answered back.

"While we were waiting for the ship to be repaired, I came across something called an impact event in a system you call Becker1314. What happened there?"

"What a silly name." Katt said.

"All the systems in this region of the galaxy are named for the man that found them." Jack began. "Dr. Marcus Becker found this very tightly packed cluster of dim stars we're in now. Hence the name Becker Cluster, there are almost 1500 stars here with each given a number in the order it was discovered, Lylat is known as Becker1236 in the home systems. We sent probes into these systems to monitor the conditions there and determine what resources that system has and if there are any habitable planets or civilizations in the system. The probes are still in the systems to monitor any kind of activity that may be of interest to the HSF. About 3 years after we came to this region, one of the probes in Becker1314 picked up a rogue asteroid roughly 15km in diameter on a collision course with a nearby planet. This is what we call a "planet killer" because an impact of that magnitude can wipe life off the surface of a planet in an instant. The chances of a planet killer actually getting to a planet are fairly small, the planet it hit was on the outside of the system, making it an easy target. It had an unusual trajectory, almost like it was aimed, it didn't follow the traditional pattern of an asteroid drawn in by gravity. It also left a hydrazine trail as it passed through the system, hydrazine is a very old rocket propellant and it does not occur naturally. "

"Can you show me where this system is?" Krystal asked, her hands were shaking.

"Yes." Jack said, he continued to talk as he walked over to the galaxy map. "The asteroid made a 60 degree turn as it approached the planet and hit just a bit off center of it's north pole scattering bits of itself and the planet's crust into the atmosphere. Everything on the impact side of the planet was incinerated or crushed in the shockwave. Only a small portion of the planet's southern pole, almost opposite of the impact zone, escaped total destruction, when the fires finally began to die out on the surface the smoke and dust choked atmosphere kept any heat from the system's star from reaching the surface, and temperatures dropped." Jack brought up the map of the Becker cluster and pointed to one star and it's three planets. Krystal collapsed to the floor.

"That was Cerinia." she whispered. "That was my home." Fox helped Krystal to her feet, she turned away, unable to look at the map.

"I'm sorry." Jack said, shaking his head. "There isn't much left there now. We knew there was a civilization on the planet when the impact occurred, the CDF didn't know what had happened and we were able to send a team to the system just 3 days after the impact. We picked up a couple of small ships that were orbiting when we arrived and there were a few survivors on the station that orbits the planet, they hadn't been there very long, but the surface was a total loss. We scoured the burning ruins of every population center we could safely get to for weeks, only a handful of survivors were found down there. I can upload the video logs taken at the time from the HSF shipnet if you want to see them."

"As soon as you can get them to me, I'd like to see them. There were survivors on the ships?" Krystal turned and faced Jack. "What happened to them? Where did you take them?"

"Io station, which was still under construction at the time. There were about 300 in all, most of them took their own lives in the days after, I guess it was too much for them. We buried the dead on Alpha III in a nearby colony's cemetery, I can't say what happened to the rest, I assume they went to the surface and settled somewhere."

"I need to go back there. Now." Krystal pointed to the map.

"I can't do that now." Jack answered. "We have a very time sensitive mission that needs done. If you can wait until it's over, I give you my word as soon as you dock with the ship, we'll go to Cerinia."

"No, I don't want to wait."

"Krystal, there isn't anything there. Everything that was on the surface is either ash or buried under meters of rubble, and the atmosphere is toxic. Please, we have a job to do and if those weapons make it into Lylat, it's going to be bad for us all. I've seen Cerinia, trust me, there's nothing there that can't wait until we're done with the mission."

"As soon as I dock, you'll turn the ship toward Cerinia?"

"Yes." Jack said. "We'll go there right away. I know this is important to you and I will keep my promise."

"Fine." Krystal said, "When do we go?"

"I'm waiting on you." Jack told her.


	7. Chapter 7

**Part 7**

Fox led the team toward the forward hangar and their new ships, Miri followed the group, walking just behind Katt and Falco. As they boarded the tram and began their trip forward Falco turned and asked,

"You part of this too? I thought you didn't fly."

"I don't." she said, "Jack asked me to come down here on your first launch and help you prepare the ships. He said there were some preflight checks I needed to go over with you before you go."

"So are you and him, you know?" Katt asked. Miri looked at the floor of the tram and shuffled her feet.

"No. I don't want to talk about it." she finally answered. "I kind of walked out and left him. I don't know what he has planned for me."

"That's not a bad thing. I mean, he seems nice and all, but furless alien doesn't work for me." Katt started, "You could find a nice guy in Corneria City, I could help you. I know all the best spots, well the ones that have been rebuilt or weren't blown up in the wars. I know lots of people, we'll find you someone normal."

"Every Cornerian I've met outside of my home has beaten, spit on, kicked, punched, cut, choked, starved, whipped, caged me, or tried to force me to do things I'm not going to speak of. The first human I met took me away, gave me a home, and didn't ask for a thing in return. If you can't overlook his appearance, I feel sorry for you." Miri was visibly angry, her hands were shaking. "There is no normal for me, I'm covered in scars that will never go away. I'm constantly reminded of what life was like before he found me."

"Geez, stress out much?" Katt said, "I was just curious. It's weird to me, that's all. I haven't seen one of his kind before. I didn't know all that stuff happened to you."

"You might try a different approach next time." Miri said, stepping out as the tram doors opened, she stormed off down the corridor leaving the group standing in the tram.

"Good move Katt." Falco said, patting her on the shoulder. "Why didn't try a little harder to tick her off?"

"Not my fault she's got a thing for aliens." Katt looked at Falco and grabbed his arm, "Not me though, I have all I need right here." He sighed and pulled his arm out of her grip. The group walked toward Miri who had opened the door and entered the hangar. The hangar lights flickered on as they entered, revealing a half dozen identical ADF fighters, each with a ladder and helmet beside it. Miri had walked over to a console below one of the fighters and started reading the screen.

"Under each ship is a console for selecting weapons loadouts, you can fit the ship any way you prefer. You have access to both Cornerian and HSF weapon systems, for those of you not familiar with HSF weapons, they are mass accelerator based. HSF weapons are accurate to extreme ranges and have excellent armor and shield penetration but a slower rate of fire due to the heat they generate. Just select the loadout you want and press the red button on the console, the drones will fit your ship in a few minutes. You can board you ships in the meantime, the hangar doors will open when all ships signal ready for launch."

"What about colors?" Katt asked, "I really don't want to go out in that."

"It doesn't say anything about paint Katt." Falco said, scrolling through the list of options for his ship. "I think I'm going to like this setup."

"Let's just go, we've got a job to do." Fox said, "It's time."

The group boarded their ships and the hangar doors slowly opened. Fox went first, flying around the _Prospect _and testing his ship's flight controls, Falco and Krystal followed with Katt right behind them.

"Good to see you getting acquainted with your ships." Jacks voice came over their coms. "You might find the controls are a bit touchy, you can adjust that from inside the ship. I'm opening the jump portal now, remember to stay in the center of the portal, don't go near the edge." A swirling vortex opened infront of the _Prospect, _Fox could see asteroids on the other side. As they passed through there were red pulses traveling down the tunnel wall. Jack spoke again.

"The red pulses you see are adjustment made to the portal to keep one end in line with the other, the ship does this to keep the portal from collapsing. The more often you see the pulses, the more unstable the portal is, if it's pulsing rapidly, get out, it's about to collapse. You'll also notice your shields are dropping, it shouldn't get below 85% on a trip through, but the amount of radiation inside the portal is enough to deplete your shields if you linger too long."

"Ok everyone, once we get through be ready." Fox said, "They could be waiting for us."

As the team cleared the portal it quickly faded behind them, they were just above the asteroid field in Lylat, thousands of dark colored rocks floated silently below them. There were several flickers of light just to their right, at least a dozen fighters closed on them, lasers firing. The group spread out and raced into the asteroids, hoping to lose their attackers.

"The target should be about 1500km away 20 degrees from your current heading." Jack said over Fox's com.

"We've got fighters, about a dozen of them." He responded back. "We're trying to lose them in the asteroids. We'll make our way there as soon as it's clear."

"If they know you're there, they might move the containers." Jack said, "Go after the containers, don't let them get out of the system. Those ships you have can outrun anything they've got, just push them hard. Don't worry too much about ship to ship combat right now. Can you give me an ID on the ships, who's are they?"

"I didn't get a good look." Fox said, "They're black ships with green canopies."

"Probably Black Venom, they're ex Anglar pilots with an axe to grind against the HSF, and they really don't like Cornerians. They're the ones doing most of the raiding outside Lylat, I'm not surprised they're our smugglers. You should be closing in on the containers."

Sitting in a clearing among the asteroids were ten interplanetary cargo tuggers with three or four containers linked to them, their engines were cold and there didn't appear to be any fighters around, Fox gave the order to group up and tried to take them out in a single pass. They began firing on the ships, only Falco was able to destroy his target, the others took too many shots to take the ships shields down.

"Falco, what did you do?" Fox asked.

"I went with the railguns, I wanted to see if the human weapons lived up to the hype. They do." Falco responded laughing. The Black Venom fighters had cleared the asteroids and engaged the group.

"I need everyone to keep those fighters off Falco so he can make another run at the cargo ships." Fox ordered, "Shoot them down if you have to, they're Anglar pilots."

Katt had banked around and managed to get behind one of the Black Venom fighters, she fired on the ship, hitting it in the right side engine. The engine exploded, showering her ship in debris as the fighter banked hard to the right, bouncing off a nearby asteroid before colliding with another and exploding in a plume of dust and smouldering metal.

"Got one." she yelled.

Fox had taken down several fighters and Falco continued to strafe the cargo ships, one after another exploded, when the last of the cargo ships were destroyed he engaged the fighters to help the rest of the team. The Black Venom fighters had difficulty keeping with the group's ships, the ADFs were capable of turns much faster and much sharper than the Airwings, Fox and Falco had no trouble getting behind the enemy fighters and taking them out. Krystal was reluctant to use the ship's weapons and had been tailed by one of Black Venom ships for most of the fight. She finally managed to weave between asteroids and watched as the Black Venom fighters crashed while trying to follow, only three of the fighters were left now and they broke off their attack.

"We should go after them." Falco said. "They'll go back and tell their buddies we're here."

"Good." Fox said, "They need to know. I think we're done here, we should get back to the ship."

Jack opened the portal and the team returned to the_ Prospect_ without incident. Falco, Fox and Katt walked around the hangar talking about the mission and flying the new ships, Krystal made a dash for the bridge. On the bridge, Jack was preparing to make the jump to Cerinia, Miri was sitting in the captain's chair, looking out into space.

"Ok, you said as soon as we got back we'd go to Cerinia." Krystal stormed onto the bridge, walking up to Jack. "Why haven't we left yet?"

"I can't jump just yet, the ship's reactor needs a few minutes to recover from opening the last jump portal. Cerinia is a pretty big jump from here and I'll need all the power the ship can spare. I gave you my word, we will go there. The coordinates are entered and the ship is positioned to make the jump, I'm just waiting on the reactor to recover. By the way, nice work with the containers, you all did very well." Fox, Falco, and Katt had walked onto the bridge as Jack was explaining the situation with the reactor.

"I'll say we did." Falco bragged, "Those guys didn't know what hit them."

"It was an easy mission," Fox told him, "They weren't expecting us."

"Still." Krystal spoke, "We did what we went out there to do, and they know we're looking for them. I like the idea of being able to drop in anywhere, they can't see us coming that way."

"I got one." Katt screamed with delight.

"We should be able to make the jump to Cerinia now." Jack said and began pressing buttons on the navigator's console. The jump portal opened infront of them, Miri who had been staring out into space looked away as the ship crossed into the portal and made it's way through. She returned to looking out as soon as Jack had given the all clear. They approached Cerinia, the planet was covered in frost and snow, it's surface only briefly visible through thick dark clouds. Krystal had caught something just starting to come into view as they orbited the planet.

"There," She said, pointing out the window. "Coreena station, it was a research station we built not too long before I left to go to Lylat. I remember seeing the explosion on the planet and being told to keep going, then just static."

"I'm surprised it's stayed up this long." Jack pointed at the station's damaged hull. "There's no power to maintain it and it's in a very low orbit, I doubt if it will last another year. I guess you want to see the surface. The clouds make it nearly impossible to see it as is, I started running a radar scan as soon as we entered orbit, let's see what it looks like down there now." Jack began working on the control panel infront of the galaxy map, a three dimensional image of the planet appeared. There was a gigantic impact crater near the northern pole, it nearly covered the entire hemisphere. Multi colored streaks branched out from the crater and the remaining surface was covered in blobs of different colors.

"What is all this?" Krystal broke her silence.

"This is a mining ship, the only way I could scan the surface was to use the mineral scanner. What you're looking at is the remains of the asteroid that hit the planet, shown in green. Most asteroids of that size are rich in iridium and this one was no exception. Blue is iron, also found in asteroids. What I'm looking for are the red, yellow, and orange areas. Like the ones on the coast here and here." Jack pointed at the planet map. "These are silicates, calcium, and gypsum deposits, the kind of minerals used in making structures."

"You're looking for the cities." Fox said, "The population centers."

"The ruins." Jack looked at the map again, "That's all that is down there, the teams we sent to the surface to look for survivors reported every structure completely destroyed or in danger of collapsing. The atmosphere is mildly acidic and prone to lightning strikes. Surface temp at the equator is 12K below freezing, I doubt anything survived near the poles. The planet will heal itself in time, but it will be hundreds of years before it's habitable again. There's some life down there, just not much of it."

"I wanted to go to the surface." Krystal turned away from the window. "I wanted to see the towers at Cerex one more time. They were on the southern coast of the largest continent there, just below the equator. From up there, you could see so far, I remember standing on top one of the towers, the salty air blowing in my face. I wondered why I feel so different now, I was so in tune with the world around me back then, but it's gone now. Looking at Cerinia, I know why. It's gone, and there's nothing here to come back to."

"I'm sorry Krystal," Fox hugged her, she put her arms around him, "I had no idea, I feel so terrible."

"I've got friends." She looked at Fox and smiled, tears in her eyes, then she looked at Jack. "Someone told me I shouldn't forget that. I think I've seen enough, unless you know where the survivors went to."

"They're on Alpha III, somewhere. We don't bother them, their community is isolated at their request." Jack told her, "But going there means you can never go back to Lylat, I'm not sure you want to do that."

"I don't know," Krystal responded. "I've got alot to think about. I'd like to look at the footage you took after the impact before I decide."

"It's in your room on the crew deck, along with a data reader." Jack told her, "I'll be setting up for your next mission in the meantime. Something else you need to know, there's a large organic mass isolated near the impact crater. I have no idea what it is but it's not natural. We don't have the equipment to properly examine it and I want the HSF to get down there and investigate."

"If your people want to pick over the corpse of this planet, I guess I can't stop them." Krystal said.

"It's not that." Jack responded. "There's something growing down there and we need to know what it is and where it came from."

"If you think it's the right thing to do. I'd like to see the report on what they find down there, maybe it will answer some questions."

"I'll let Admiral Miller know."

"Hey, what about payment?" Falco asked.

"Oh yes, payment." Jack said. "There were a total of 10 cargo ships, 36 containers of contraband, and 9 enemy fighters. The HSF granted me 120,000 credits for the job. That's 25,000 for each of the pilots, and 20,000 split between Miri, myself, and the ship expenses. Does that sound fair?"

"Are you kidding?" Fox said happily. "The CDF would give us 7,000 credits total for a job like that, I'd say 25,000 each is more than fair."

"The more dangerous missions will pay better I'm sure. But this is how payment will be given out, since the HSF can't be linked to funding you directly, they do appreciate your help and I hope this shows it." Jack looked at the group, "You should get some rest before the next mission, I don't have any details other than it should happen in the next few days. I'll let you know if we need to move up the timetable."

The group made their way to the crew deck and found the rooms Jack had given them, each one was a 3 by 4 meter room furnished with a bed, dresser, a small closet and attached washroom. Falco and Katt went to their rooms leaving Krystal, Fox, and Miri standing in the hall.

"I thought you'd be staying up on the bridge with Jack." Krystal said.

"Like I told Katt," Miri said looking at the floor. "There's nothing there." She walked off to her room and closed the door.

"Fox, it was good to fly with you again." Krystal turned and looked at him as she spoke. "I'm going to look at the files Jack gave me on the destruction of Cerinia, I don't know if you really want to see it."

"I'll give you some time then, just knock if you need me." Fox turned back to Krystal, "It was good to fly with you too."


	8. Chapter 8

**Part 8**

Krystal sat down on the bed and looked at the data reader and small stack of discs on her dresser. She picked up the reader and put the first disc in, it was footage of Cerinia just after the impact. The surface of the planet was covered by thick black clouds, she could see the land mass smoldering through the gaps. A human voice began,

"This is first officer Donald Sampson of the auxiliary cruiser _Nagano_ answering HSF 3rd fleet command's request to investigate a massive impact on Becker1314 C. We've entered high orbit around the planet to begin observation..." The rest was details about the planet's atmosphere, surface temperature, it's density and lack of moon, as well as population estimates other statistics. The recording ended with the _Nagano_ approaching Coreena Station and several small Cerinian ships. Krystal wondered what the Cerinians on the station must have felt seeing this unknown ship approach after such a disaster. She put the second disc into the reader and started the recording.

"This is first officer Donald Sampson of the auxiliary cruiser _Nagano_, we have taken the refugees from the station orbiting Becker1314 C and docked the few small vessels we found in our hangar. The surviving population is obviously traumatized but cooperative thus far. They're similar in size and build to the Cornerians in the nearby Lylat system but have different coloring, typically primary colors or combinations of 2 primary colors, this is in contrast to the more natural toned Cornerians. They've agreed to allow us to take them away from the planet and be resettled on a habitable world on the condition that we attempt to search the surface of Becker1314 C for survivors and any items of cultural value. I've assembled several landing parties and we're in the process of locating reasonably safe landing zones as close to the population centers as we can get. The amount of dust and debris in the atmosphere makes prolonged flight with any kind of turbofan engine risky, so we're picking target areas to drop into rather than skim along the surface." This recording had pictures of Coreena station and the small group of ships docked outside it. Krystal sifted through the photographs until she came to pictures of the survivors, each one had their picture taken along with their name and occupation if they had one. Most had a lost stare in their eyes, some were crying, some just looked on. She turned the reader off and looked at disc 3, this one was the start of the human's search for survivors. Footage taken from the dropships as they flew over the surface of the planet, documenting the destruction. It ended with the humans touching down just outside the ruins of one of the cities, Krystal could see thick plumes of black smoke coming from the piles of rubble, there wasn't anything that looked like a building. She inserted disc 4, her hand shaking.

"Sergent Vasquez, HSF special operations reporting." The voice was a human female, "We're on the surface of Becker1314 C attempting to locate survivors of a massive impact event that occurred here 3 days prior. There is very little of the surface that's safely accessible by foot, most of the planet is either on fire or flooded with scalding water from the 200+ meter wave that washed over the coastal areas after the impact. Atmosphere is breathable for the most part but the high concentrations of ash and dust make prolonged exposure risky. I can't imagine anyone surviving down here but we managed to pull 3 out of the rubble today, all children. We've found plenty of bodies and have given them proper burial according to human custom. I hope it's enough for them, whatever culture or society these people had here is totally lost." Krystal skipped through the audio and looked at picture after picture of covered bodies, humans digging graves and the fields of headstones crudely made from bits of debris, each with only a number. There was the occasional picture of someone being helped from the rubble, just as scared to see their rescuers as they were to have been buried, but most of pictures were bodies and smoldering rubble. The 5th disc was more of the same, with a final count of survivors at 312, with 22 pulled from the surface of the planet. The sixth and final disc was concentrated on the impact zone and data regarding the asteroid. She looked through the endless charts and maps, speculation where the asteroid came from and how it managed to hit the planet. She stopped at a video, it was from the human probe sent into the system. The asteroid had passed near the probe some 2 days before it hit the planet, Krystal could clearly see a cluster of rocket engines embedded into the surface of the asteroid, the colors of Venom's army visible on them. She'd seen enough and made her way to the bridge to meet with Jack.

"Jack, I need you to send something to the CDF for me." she said as she walked onto the bridge. Jack was talking with the fleet commander about the mission they had just completed. Krystal could only hear one side of the conversation but listened in as Jack continued to talk.

"I'm happy with their first mission, things went better than I expected." He began, "No, the ADF did well against the Black Venom fighters. I expect the group to get better as they become familiar with the limits of their ships. I've got them prepping for the escort run, I don't foresee any issues, there's plenty of talent there. I understand, I'll keep the fighter on standby, it's docked in one of the hangars. If things get out of hand, I'll drop into the system, standard protocol, no survivors. I'd rather have a destroyer for this one though." Krystal stepped back, what was the destroyer and what did he mean by no survivors? Jack had finished his conversation and caught Krystal standing just inside the door.

"I thought I heard someone talking before." He walked toward Krystal. "Guess you heard what the plan is for the next mission."

"I came up here to ask you to send this image to the CDF," She said. "It's proof Andross was the one who destroyed my homeworld and I'd like them to document it. I did hear part of your conversation, I heard some things that worried me. The destroyer and your reference to no survivors, these aren't things I want to be involved in."

"The destroyer is a ship," Jack said as he walked to one of the consoles on the side of the room, bringing up an image of a ship. It was a simple hexagon shaped cylinder about 85 meters long with a cluster of six thrusters at it's back and an orange dome shaped protrusion at the front. There were four turrets on top running the length of the ship and four on the bottom arranged the same way, each turret had four barrels and what looked like a sensor cluster on top.

Jack continued, "It's designed to kill fighters, other small ships, and even incoming missiles or smartbombs. The guns on larger ships can't track the smaller fighters so a small ship with a big bomb or missile can be dangerous. The targeting system on each of the eight turrets can engage one target, track another, while acquiring a third. This means the ship can effectively engage and eliminate up to 24 targets at the same time."

"What a horrible weapon." Krystal said shaking her head.

"Next mission, you'll be escorting a freighter of some kind. If things get out of hand in Lylat," Jack said. "I will fly my ship into the system and help keep the escort going. If I'm reading the intel right, this is the last aid run into Lylat if the ship doesn't make it, I don't want this operation to fail."

"So you don't think we can do it?"

"No, I think you can do it, but if there's a swarm of fighters attacking the cargo ship you might not be able to take them out before they destroy the ship. I can help thin their numbers if needed. The no survivors protocol is for the enemy ships, I can't let them escape after seeing a human ship in Lylat."

"I'm sorry I didn't trust you." Krystal said, "I just wanted to be sure."

"It's no problem, I think it's a good thing. You show you've got a heart in this as well as your head, you're not just out here for the credits. That's not something I'd have expected from you when we first met."

"This is who I am." she said. "What you saw before was someone different, you helped break the cycle of guilt and anger I felt for so long. The reason I came up here is there's something I wanted to talk to you about, away from the others."

"Go ahead." Jack sat down in the captain's chair looking out over the front of the ship. Krystal sat down in one of the nearby chairs, being careful not to touch the consoles that surrounded it. She looked around the room then back to Jack and spoke.

"What does Miri do here?"

"Honestly, nothing." He said. Krystal was surprised by his abrupt answer.

"She doesn't handle the logistics on the ship? Like you told the others."

"She does, but what is there to do other than push a button when we need to stock up on raw materials or reorder food stocks when we're docked? She can't do anything, she was a laborer on a farm for most of her life and has no developed skills beyond what a basic education gave her. I'm trying to help her along and show her things when I can, finding time is difficult though."

"I imagine it is." Krystal looked around the bridge. "Maybe I can help you."

"If she found out I told you, she'd be heartbroken, it's not something she's proud of. I have tried to make her understand that her situation is not her fault, but she doesn't listen. She's smart and a very fast learner, whatever she decides to do, she will be good at."

"So what do you plan to do with her?" Krystal began prodding. "She says you don't have any kind of relationship, and you don't have a use for her on the ship. So why keep her around at all."

"Until I can get her trained enough to function in society, she can stay here on board." Jack turned and faced Krystal. "She's free to go anytime she wants, the same as the rest of you. She's taken advantage of that freedom once and I'm sure she will do it again. You should get some rest, I'm putting the ship in orbit and turning in myself."

"She cares about you. I think she's upset you don't show it back to her."

"I'll outlive her by almost another lifetime." Jack said. "She'll age and die and I'll be just the way I am now. If someone was to find out she was close to me, they could harm her to get to me, that makes her a distraction and a liability. I'm helping her the same way I helped you, nothing more."

"You're making excuses." Krystal stood up and walked toward the door. "It's not doing either of you any good. I have no idea why you'd be so afraid. If she's here, she's safe and I have no doubts you'd keep it that way. Be someone she can truly trust, it may help her like it did me."

"I can't explain it to you right now, just leave it alone. I'm putting the ship in orbit and turning in." Jack said as he turned back toward the ship's controls. "You should do the same."

Krystal walked off the bridge and back toward her room on the crew deck, everyone had gone to sleep and she decided to do the same. She walked over to the bed in her room and pulled the sheets back, there was a knock at the door, it was Miri.

"I heard part of your conversation with Jack." Miri said. "I can't believe he told you."

"I had heard something I didn't like, I wanted him to explain it."

"That wasn't part of it though." Miri said stepping into the room. "You know about me."

"It's nothing we can't work through." Krystal said, "I'd have never known if Jack didn't tell me. We can help you too Miri."

"Oh yeah." Miri leaned on the wall, her arms folded. "I could really see Katt helping me out. I don't think the other two would take time out of their busy day to bother with me."

"Fox and Falco are good people, they really are. Katt just picked a bad subject to talk about, I'm sure she meant well by it. Jack told me some things about you, but there was more he said I'd have to hear from you if I wanted to know." Krystal sat back on her bed. "I'm trying to get Jack to open up a bit."

"Jack doesn't open up." Miri said, walking over to the bed and sitting down next to Krystal. "You obviously spent some time with him, you've seen how he is."

"I...I'm not sure I should be talking about this with you." Krystal looked at the floor. "You might not want to hear it."

"I left, whatever happened after that wasn't my concern." Miri put her hand on Krystal's shoulder.

"When I met Jack." Krystal began, "I was being held captive at gunpoint and I'm sure just a few moments from being shot. Jack killed my captor, got me out of that place, repaired my ship, fed me, gave me a place to wash up and rest, and didn't ask for a thing in return. I was nasty to him, it was the only way I knew how to be. He just brushed it off and continued on. Eventually, I snapped out of it and started to feel like my old self again. After he drove off the squadron that had been hunting me I thanked him, put my arms around him, and looked him in the eyes. I've never seen a creature as sad and burdened as he was then. I told him he gave me something to look forward to."

"And?" Miri interrupted.

"That's all, you were here for the rest. We went on to find Fox and now that I'm flying with him again, I'm happier than I have ever been."

"Jack liked to tell me that he's trained to do the right thing, no matter the personal cost." Miri said. "He says friends and family are a liability. I guess I believe it now."

"That was why I came looking for you." Krystal pointed at the dresser in the room. "He's got a dresser in his room with pictures of you and him on top of it." Miri became uneasy when Krystal mentioned the pictures. She stood up and started walking out of the room.

"I'm not sure what to make of that. I know what you're trying to do, and I should probably just come out and say it now." Miri put her head down as she spoke. "I don't like Jack, I never have."

"What?" Krystal was stunned. "After everything he's done for you, how can you say that?"

"I don't ask for any of it, so it's not like I really owe him anything." Miri said coldly. "I wasn't a farmer abducted from a colony like I told Jack. I'm a material buyer for a large Cornerian based corporation, hijackers attacked our ship while I was making trip to inspect a new claim found on Papetoon and took me hostage for ransom, the company didn't pay them. I traveled with them getting tossed from one cage to another. Sometimes beaten, sometimes starved. I lost my eye when one of them tried to get too close, he swiped at me with a blade of some kind when I kicked him in the head. Their doctor, if you could call him that, didn't even try to save it. Jack came along a couple of weeks after that, he butchered the lot of them. You should have seen it Krystal, absolutely horrible what that creature can do. Anyway, I didn't want him to know who I really was, I wasn't sure if I could trust him. He seemed sympathetic to my story so I ran with it, and he got me out of there."

"You're unbelievable. What about on Io station, and your speech to Katt?"

"I'm not going to let anyone put him down like Katt did, that was just uncalled for. When we met on Io, I was in a really bad situation. It wasn't all an act, I really was desperate to get out of there. You came in and when you pulled out that transmitter or whatever it was I knew he'd come back for me."

"But you had that pendant."

"Yeah, what about it? Want to know a good way to keep a bunch of lonely, human hating crewmen from pestering you for a night together? Show them some of these pictures." Miri pulled the pendant out of her shirt and spun it on the necklace as she showed it to Krystal. "It doesn't work with everyone though, as you've seen. Krystal, I've got a husband back on Corneria that hasn't seen me in years and doesn't have a clue what happened to me. My future isn't out here in space, it's back home on Corneria with my family."

"I don't know what to say. I never expected this from you." Krystal struggled to make sense of what she was hearing.

"Don't say anything." Miri grabbed Krystal's arm. "I mean it, not a word to Jack or anyone on this ship. Want to get off this deathtrap and back to Corneria. I don't like being out here."

"I can't keep quiet about this." Krystal told her. "I won't."

"I bet you have a pretty checkered past, don't you?" Miri looked at Krystal with a cold smile. "Wonder what Fox would say if he found out the dirty details."

"Fox knows everything that I have done in the time we were apart, I didn't hide anything." Krystal said defiantly.

"He doesn't know what I'm going to tell him. It doesn't matter if it's true or not, it will put doubt in his head. I'll be watching you." Miri said as she walked out the door.

"Likewise." Krystal responded as she shut the door and turned out the lights. Night passed on the _Prospect_ without incident and the group had made their way to the ship's mess hall to get a much needed meal. The ship's mess was a large plain white room with a programmable food dispenser on one wall, a grey colored sectional sofa along another, and a circular table in the center. As the group sat down and ate Falco broke the silence.

"So what do you think the next assignment is?"

"I don't know," Fox said. "We'll know soon enough."

"Good to see you're all awake." Jack's voice came over the ship's intercom. "Meet me in the forward hangar whenever you're ready."

"How does he know where we are?" Katt asked.

"The ship had sensors all over that track movement." Miri told her. "It's for security."

The group made their way to the ship's forward hangar where their ADF fighters were docked. As the door to the hangar bay opened the group was surprised to see their own ships in place of the ADFs, each ship was polished to a mirror finish and had on it's red colored wing tips what appeared to be the old Star Fox logo in silver surrounded by a blue ring that was similar to the jump portals they used to enter Lylat. Jack spoke as the group walked around the hangar, inspecting their ships.

"What you're looking at are your new ships. They are the same ADF fighters you have been flying, but modified to look like your Cornerian ships, they still fly like the ADFs, the change is purely cosmetic. I did some thinking about what Katt said regarding the ship's appearance and decided it might help curry favor with the Cornerian public if the ships you're flying look like the ones you flew during the wars."

"What's with the logo?" Fox asked.

"The squadron needed a name. I went back and remembered a story about a creature that was so quick and cunning it couldn't be caught, much like you. I gave the squadron that name, Silver Fox."

"I don't know." Falco said. "We're not all about Fox are we?"

"The name is meant to remind the public who you are." Jack said, "They need to be reminded of what Star Fox did for them."

"I was calling my ship the Rusty Kitty, so I guess it's better than that." Katt said.

"I like it." Krystal told Fox, "It fits the team's new approach."

"Well, I guess it can stay then." Falco looked at Jack. "What's the next job?"

"Ever since the end of the last war in Lylat, the HSF has been sending Cornerian ships loaded with supplies to help with the rebuilding of the system. These ships are dropped into the edge of the system just like you are when deployed on a mission, this keeps the Cornerian public and parts of the CDF that don't know the HSF exists thinking that the aid ships are coming from settled colonies outside Lylat. The problem is the CDF is not strong enough to police Lylat and too many of the aid ships never reach their destination, they compound the problem by refusing to let us drop the ships right into orbit around Corneria or escort them ourselves. The HSF is not going to send any more aid ships unless something can be done to insure their safety."

"What's happening to the ships?" Katt asked.

"Small rogue factions like the Black Venom Syndicate have popped up in and around Lylat, they're mostly made up of former military pilots from Venom, CDF rejects, and people who've decided there isn't enough misery in the world and feel the need to create more. These groups have been hijacking the aid ships or outright destroying them in an attempt to extort credits and supplies from the Cornerian government and to a lesser extent the HSF. Obviously, we're not paying them and the CDF can't, so they keep hitting the aid ships."

"When do we get started?" Falco asked.

"The freighter is due any minute now, I'll be jumping you all in together. I'd get your ships fitted and ready to go, no human ordinance this time, it wouldn't look right for Cornerian fighters to have anything other than Cornerian weapons.

"Aww, man." Falco said.

The freighter arrived shortly after the Silver Fox team had taken to space, it was an old Cornerian carrier that had been modified to fit cargo containers, much like the Great Fox 2 had been. The ship's captain was eager to get into the Lylat and complete his run, he patiently waited as Jack opened the portal into Lylat and the small fleet began to move as soon as it stabilized.


	9. Chapter 9

**Part 9**

The Cornerian ship entered the Lylat system with the Silver Fox team surrounding them, the jump portal shut right behind Falco's ship, nearly catching it inside.

"Cutting it a little close aren't you?" Falco yelled into the com, Jack didn't respond.

"Easy Falco, we've got a long way to go." Fox said.

"Well it's not off to a good start." Falco replied. As the two argued, the Cornerian freighter began to move into Lylat, leaving the group behind. The ship was designed to travel from planet to planet and didn't move particularly fast, it would take them nearly eighteen hours to reach Corneria at top speed. The group took positions around the ship, with Fox in the lead, Krystal and Katt on either side and Falco watching the rear. Fox tried to reach Jack to let him know their progress but the com system was dead, it was nearly two hours before Jack responded.

"Good to hear it's going well," He said, "Sorry I had to close the portal in a hurry, I have hostiles. They swarmed the portal and came after me once it had closed."

"Are you in trouble?" Fox asked.

"I'm ok for now, I haven't seen these guys before. They don't look like any ship I know of and worse they're armed with railguns. The _Prospect's_ defenses are keeping them at bay but the ship is taking a pounding, shields are at 55%. There were 28 contacts on radar, there's 19 now, I'm hoping they will take enough losses and turn away, I can't undock under fire like this."

"Do you need us to get back there and help?" Fox asked.

"Negative, keep doing what you're doing, HSF system security knows I'm out here, they should be on their way soon. As long as the shields don't go below 20%, their shots can't get through. Wait a second... two more down, looks like they're turning back. Something's wrong, they attacked as soon as you entered the portal. I think the next attack is coming on your end, stay alert. I'm prepping my fighter and I'll be in Lylat as soon as I can, I'll tail you through the system just out of sensor range if you need to talk to me, do so from the secure HSF channel on your ship's com, the CDF can't pick it up. With some luck the CDF won't spot me."

"What if they come back?" Krystal asked.

"The ship will be fine, I didn't get the chance to cloak it before these guys showed up. Miri is going to run the coms while I'm in Lylat with you, she's seen how it's done and I'm confident she can handle it, just keep talking to her so she can get used to running the system. I'm handing over control now."

"Hi Miri!" Katt said cheerfully.

"Hi Katt." Miri responded after a brief pause. "Jack says he'll be along shortly, he says maybe 20 minutes. He wants you to keep me informed if anything happens so I can relay a message to him."

"Fox!" Krystal yelled, "Right side!" A small group of ships appeared out of the darkness, flying in a wobbly formation before scattering and attacking the Cornerian freighter. The freighter's shields were rapidly depleting and the captain pleaded for help. None of the attacking ships responded to the group's communications.

"Those are Cornerian fighters!" Falco said, "What's going on, we're the good guys. Fox? What are we going to do?" Fox turned his ship and headed right for one of the attacking Cornerian fighters, trying to identify the pilot. The ship ignored him and continued it's attack on the freighter. He knew something wasn't right about this attack, the Cornerians needed these supplies. As he closed in over the fighter and rolled his ship, placing his canopy above the Cornerian fighter's. Inside, the cockpit was empty, the ship was being piloted remotely or was running as a drone.

"There's no one inside," He told the group. "Take them out as quickly as you can." The Silver Fox team was able to quickly destroy the attacking ships, they didn't try to fight back and continued to shoot at the freighter. Krystal had noticed a ship right on the edge of her radar, pacing the freighter, after the last of the attackers was destroyed, it vanished. The Cornerian freighter had taken several hits but still had shields and never dropped speed during the attack. MIri had let the group know when Jack jumped into the system, he was able to catch the group quickly and remained just out of sensor range, shadowing the freighter.

"Jack, there was a ship on my scanner that disappeared as soon as we destroyed the last ship." Krystal said.

"I picked it up on the long range as I approached," Jack told her. "It went straight for Corneria after the last ship was destroyed. It wasn't a Cornerian fighter, the signature was wrong."

"Any idea what it was?" Fox asked.

"None," Jack said. "I'm having Miri run a trace on the wing markings of those fighters that attacked you, the CDF doesn't use good ships like those for drones." The escort continued through the system for hours without incident, the group was exhausted and fatigue began setting in.

"I'm so tired," Katt whined into the com. "Can't we stop for just a little while?"

"We can't stop Katt," Fox said. "It won't be much longer."

"We're at 80% of the distance to Corneria, you can see it just ahead, the bright blue spot there." Jack said. Another hour passed before Miri broke the silence.

"Jack, I think I found something on the fighters that attacked you. HSF intel says the markings are from the 3rd Scout Squadron which was sent out on a mission into Sector X about a week ago. Only two of the eight ships returned, the others were reported lost. The two pilots that came back didn't have any idea what happened to the rest of the squadron and almost no memory of the trip to Sector X."

"Good job Miri. You get all that Fox?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, it doesn't make any sense though."

"Someone wanted you to shoot those ships down. I think they were recording the attack from a distance." Just then another voice interrupted the conversation.

"Cornerian freighter, you and your escort are to stop immediately." The voice said. "This is Lieutenant Soren of the Cornerian Defense Force." Ahead of the group a fleet of Cornerian ships blocked their path, dozens of fighters swarmed the convoy and positioned themselves to attack.

"Wow, overkill much?" Katt said.

"Fox, you better talk some sense into these guys." Jack said. "They haven't seen me, and I'd like to keep it that way."

"This is Fox McCloud of the mercenary group Silver Fox. We're escorting this freighter loaded with supplies for rebuilding Corneria. We don't need to go any further, you can take over from here."

"I'm afraid I can't let any of you proceed." The Lieutenant said. "You attacked and destroyed one of our scout squadrons, I have orders to stop your advance and destroy your convoy."

"Those ships that attacked our freighter and had no pilots. They were drones." Fox pleaded with the Lieutenant.

"I've seen the footage of the attack." He responded. "The evidence shows me something different. Squad, into formation! On my command, open fire."

"Lieutenant, I'm sorry." Jack's voice came over the general com channel. He had been listening in on the conversation between Fox and the Lieutenant from his position outside the ship's sensor range. "I can't let you destroy this ship."

"Identify yourself, unknown." The Lieutenant's voice was nervous.

"I'm CSU Orion of the Human Systems Federation. This freighter is carrying supplies from our territory outside Lylat. We've been attacked by ships from the 3rd Scout Squadron flying unmanned. Part of this squadron vanished a week ago with only two ships returning, you do know that right?"

"I'm not at liberty to discuss that with an enemy pilot. I'm not familiar with the Human Systems Federation, you have no place here." The Lieutenant responded, "I know what I saw, and that was your squadron attacking and destroying Cornerian fighters. I have my orders, we're to shoot you all down."

"Lieutenant, as soon as you power up your weapons my ship will open fire destroying the first ship it has targeted, that's you. I'm sitting just outside your sensor range, you won't get the chance to fire."

"Jack," Fox said over the HSF com. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"I'm not going to fire on them, just sit tight and we'll all get out of this. If they do attack, turn and run. Your ship's shields can take the beating long enough for you to get out of range." Jack responded, then continued talking to the Lieutenant.

"I do not want to do that. I ask that the freighter be allowed to clear the area, you are welcome to inspect it and send it on it's way. It had no part in the attack you witnessed." The group sat in space for almost an hour, waiting for the Lieutenant's response. Suddenly the Cornerian fleet began moving to surround the freighter and its escort.

"The freighter can go." Lieutenant Soren said. The Cornerian freighter fired it's engines and slowly moved below the group and toward the Cornerian fleet, a group of fighters had surrounded it and guided it off toward Corneria. The Lieutenant spoke again.

"I've been told one of our high ranking officers has information about the incident involving your squadron. He tells me the ships you shot down were from our missing scout squad and were in fact unmanned. I've also been told the pilots have been found unharmed and they are on their way back aboard one of our carriers that was operating out of the system. I have orders from my superiors to let you turn around, it's against my judgement, but you're free to go."

"What just happened?" Katt asked.

"Let's get out of here, the freighter is safe this close to Corneria." Jack said. "We'll talk about this when we get back to the _Prospect_." The group slowly turned around and started to head out of the system. The Cornerian Lieutenant spoke over the com as they pulled away.

"I should have shot every one of you. This isn't over."

"I would have done the same Lieutenant." Jack told him, "I'm thankful it didn't come to that."

"I don't think that was necessary Jack." Fox said. "Should we really be prodding that guy?"

"I know, but we're guilty in his eyes regardless of what really happened. It will be interesting to see the fallout from this."

"Interesting?" Falco yelled. "We were two seconds from an all out assault from the CDF. You're a complete idiot!"

"Falco!" Fox said.

"It's ok, this was a bad mission all the way around. It's just a fraction of the difficulties the CDF has caused us by not allowing the HSF into into this system. We're clear of the CDF Miri, jumping back now." A jump portal opened infront of the group and they returned to the _Prospect_. Jack had docked with the ship and went to the bridge with the others following. Miri was waiting for them, still sitting in the chair infront of the communications console, she stood up as Jack entered the room.

"I'm glad you made it back, I was worried when the CDF showed up."

"They decided not to attack." Jack said looking at her with a smile. "Someone sent them the footage of the drone attack."

"I told the communications officer on the _Ardennes_ I had something the Cornerians needed to see, she told me to send it to her so she could forward it to the Cornerian ambassador."

"You did good Miri, you got us out of shootout with the CDF." Jack stepped forward and hugged her tightly. "I'm very proud of you."

"Thank you." Miri said, looking toward Krystal before staring at the floor. "The Admiral wanted to talk to you when you got back, I think she's upset."

"Upset is one way to put it." The admiral's voice boomed from the communications console.

"I think I left the channel open, sorry I'm still learning." Miri said nervously, as the Admiral continued to talk.

"After the first outing, I had high hopes that this idea of yours would work, Orion. This time around I'm not so sure, I've got reports from the Cornerians that a human ship was in with the escorted freighter and threatened to attack the CDF. This was followed by another report from the Interstellar Iridium Corporation that one of their mercenary squadrons was nearly wiped out by the asteroid defense cannons on a rogue mining vessel identified as the _Fortune's Prospect_, care to explain?"

"Did the freighter make it to Corneria?"

"Yes it did, and it will be sent out again as soon as it returns."

"Good news for the Cornerians. What's Interstellar Iridium doing out here, I thought this region was locked down?" Jack asked.

"They've been operating in Gamma and Delta for a couple of years now." The Admiral responded. "We felt Alpha was secure enough to allow them limited access. Their security patrols started sweeping Alpha system a few days ago."

"Good thing someone told me about it. They attacked my ship without any kind of warning or identification, I had to defend myself and my crew."

"Interstellar Iridium's representative told us their mercenary pilots tried to raise your ship several times and were responded with weapons fire. Had you actually been on the ship at the time of the attack, instead of out pissing off the Cornerians, we might have been able to avoid this incident. You still owe me an explanation."

"I was on the ship Admiral, there were no communications sent, they just popped up and started shooting. I left because I thought our mission had been compromised, and I did so only after the _Prospect_ was secure."

"He's telling the truth Admiral." Fox spoke up. "We were attacked in Lylat by unmanned Cornerian fighters at the same time the _Prospect_ was hit, we did everything we could to protect the freighter."

"Orion, I thought we were talking on a secure channel. Who was that?"

"The squadron is standing on the bridge with me. There are no secret conversations here and I intend to keep it that way. They're doing us a favor by working for the HSF and they need to know what's going on, as do I. We need to know how the missing pilots got back to Lylat, the CDF officer said they were returned on a carrier."

"I don't approve, Orion." The Admiral said.

"This is the way it is, I won't operate any other way."

"If you think that is in the best interest of your team, then so be it. The Cornerian pilots were found held captive on a cargo ship drifting in Alpha during our recent joint fleet operation with the CDF, it was an excellent opportunity to demonstrate our capabilities and earn some goodwill. The Cornerian Ambassador was on the carrier they sent to us and spoke highly of our work. I do need to mention that Interstellar Iridium is upset about the loss of their pilots, they think we're running a rogue mining operation and trying to lock them out of the resources in this region. In order to quell their complaints, we've permitted a small field team to board and inspect the ship. I want them to know it's been converted to a covert carrier."

"With all due respect Admiral, the reason it's a covert carrier is no one knows about it."

"Unless you want their patrols attacking your ship every chance they get, let them look around. That's a direct order."

"So when can we expect them?"

"Three days from now, you will go back to Io station to pick them up." The admiral explained, "The team is being led by one Sandra Dinan and her entourage of half a dozen people or so. Take them out on a mission and demonstrate some of the ship's abilities, then drop them off back at the station when they're satisfied and don't let them get a look at the cloaking equipment."

"I don't have the facilities to take on that many people, we've had to remove some of the crew quarters to make room for the cloaking hardware."

"Improvise Orion, it's what you're trained to do. Interstellar Iridium has a tremendous amount of pull within the HSF, they can shut your operation down if they feel the need to. I'd hate to see your talents wasted doing recon work in the Perseus Transit."

"I've got Cornerians in my crew, will they be bringing a Kelden with them?" Jack asked.

"They almost always do, if for no other reason than to rub our noses in it." The Admiral responded. "You might want to let the Cornerians know what to expect."

"Will do. What's our next job?"

"I don't have one for you right now, we're still trying to cover your last disaster. I'm sure we'll have something by the time the Interstellar Iridium people board the ship, maybe clear out a nest or two in one of the nearby systems. Admiral Miller out."

"Thank for sticking up for me Fox. I appreciate it."

"No problem."

Jack turned around and faced the group with a sigh. He walked over to one of the consoles on the side of the bridge and sat down, putting his head in his hand as he brought up an overview of the species within the HSF.

"I'm not supposed to be showing you this because Lylat isn't in the HSF, but since you're about to have your first encounter with one of the resident species in the HSF, I think you should see it. There are about a dozen species within the HSF, all of which we encountered during our exploration of the galaxy. Some, like the Greys and the Acera are as advanced as we are, if not more so. Most are peaceful and came into our organization willingly, others were conquered when they stepped outside their territory and tried to fight us off. The Kelden are neither, they are a class 3 civilization that was discovered by Interstellar Iridium about fifty years ago. You can ask the obvious question anytime now."

"What's a Kelden?" Krystal asked

"What's a class 3 civilization?" Fox asked right after.

"The progress of a civilization is ranked by five classes, class 1 being intelligent, sapient life that makes use of tools, had limited verbal skills and no structure. Class 2 civilizations have adopted a written language of some kind and have formed organized tribes and communities. Class 3 have built structures using basic engineering principles and have a developed culture. There's a large jump to class 4 where a species has mastered powered flight and started to consider or attempt space exploration, this could be to a nearby moon or just putting objects into orbit. Finally class 5 are species that have mastered interplanetary travel and begun to explore outside their own star system." Jack continued, "Interstellar Iridium lost a small mining ship in Kelden's atmosphere and sent a team down to the surface to recover the crew, the HSF had not completely scouted that region of space due to a conflict with another species being fought nearby and we had no idea there was life on that planet. If we had known, Interstellar Iridium would have never been allowed near the planet. Instead, the bastards claimed it and have been using the population as personal servants and laborers."

"They take slaves?" Krystal said shaking her head. "How awful."

"Not exactly, the Kelden think we're divine beings and will leave the planet willingly, they consider it an honor to be chosen to serve. Interstellar Iridium plays on this to get them to mine minerals from their homeworld since they can't put a colony on the planet. The males are taken to work in the mines on the planet, they're too aggressive to be taken on a ship and don't do well in close quarters. The females are very docile and are used as personal servants, maids, or assistants and are toted all over HSF territory. They are returned to their homeworld when their term of service is up, typically it's about 5 years. Any longer in space and they start to develop physical problems, skin peeling and respiratory problems to name a couple. A civilazation that had been allowed to advance on it's own would have found a way to cope with these issues, we have not as of yet. The operation hasn't been as profitable as Interstellar Iridium would like since they're using manual labor, but they keep at it. They've completely screwed up the Kelden civilization's natural development."

"So what do they look like?" Katt asked.

"They're just a bit taller than me, kind of a reptile/bird hybrid in appearance, and have big red, yellow, or black eyes and razor sharp claws on three fingered hands. They're pretty docile but can be dangerous when upset or threatened, don't approach the humans they travel with in an aggressive manner or they may attack. That means no yelling or putting fingers in their faces either, keep your cool. Next couple of days just relax and take it easy on the ship. I'm going to cruise for a bit so the drones and clean the ship and jettison the rubbish. Then we'll head to Io so we can be docked and ready for these people."


	10. Chapter 10

**Part 10**

Jack was working the in the aft hangar when he heard the tram grind to a halt. He looked up to see Krystal stomping toward her ship carrying a small duffel bag. She jumped into the cockpit and began preparing her ship. She glanced up from the controls and looked at him, then went back to work.

"So much for relaxing for the next few days." he thought as he walked toward Krystal. "Where you going Blue?" She ignored him and continued to peck away at the controls. Jack walked under Krystal's ship and pried open a small panel on its underside directly below the pilot's seat. He pulled the lever inside and powered down the systems. Krystal pounded the console as the lights flickered off.

"What do you think you're doing?" Krystal snapped.

"I asked you a question." He yelled back. "And I expect an answer. Where are you going?"

"I'm leaving. You've got your team, you don't need me anymore."

"I don't remember telling you that."

"Whatever you did to my ship, fix it and open the doors."

"No." Jack stepped back from Krystal's ship, turned and walked toward the workbench where he had been working. Krystal jumped down from her ship and stormed across the hangar, grabbing Jack's arm.

"Fix my ship." She said through clenched jaws. "And open the doors." Jack pulled his arm from Krystal's grip, her nails cut deep into his skin leaving small bleeding scratches. He looked at his arm, then back to Krystal.

"Tell me what's got you so upset, and I'll consider it."

"Fix my ship, and open the doors or I'll go through you and do it myself, I swear I will."

"Don't threaten me. That's not a fight you want to start and you know it." Jack said mockingly. "Talk to me, I've done alot for you, and asked for nothing in return. If you're leaving, at least let me know why."

"It's Fox." Krystal said under her breath. "Now fix my ship..."

"And open the doors. I know by now." Jack interrupted her. "What's he done?"

"He's been seeing some girl named Fara on Corneria. He should have told me when we met on the Great Fox."

"That's it? You're ready to run off over that?"

"Maybe things like that don't matter to you." She said as she started to weep. "But they matter to me. Fox was all I had."

"You ran off and joined his rivals, took one of them as your partner, rampaged across Lylat and beyond, then vanished. Some girl takes pity on a burned out pilot you left behind after screwing with his head and you're upset about it? I expected better from you." Jack walked over to a control panel on the wall. He entered a code on the keypad and the hangar doors slowly opened, revealing the black empty void of space. He then turned and approached Krystal's ship, climbed beneath it and reconnected the systems.

"I've done as you asked, you're free to leave." He said. "I want you to see something first before you go." He handed Krystal a small data pad with a list of names and pictures.

"These are pilots for the Cornerian Defense Force." She said, scrolling through the list.

"The operation I'm running has been in the planning stages for a couple of years now. The Cornerians were all for it, I had my pick of the best and brightest Corneria had to offer me. I took your recommendation instead. Because I respected you." Jack rubbed his arm, streaking the blood from the scratches.

"Well, you got what you were after, you have a squadron." She said, "I'm sorry about the scratches."

"It's alright, nothing that won't heal in a few days." Jack looked at her, "I'd be one short without you."

"So take Fara, she's on this list." Krystal pointed to the data pad. "She's not the most decorated pilot on it, but she is on here."

"Where do you plan on going from here?"

"I don't know, there's very few places I can go to be honest. Wolf's going to hunt me wherever I go." Krystal shook her head. "Maybe I'll head back to Corneria and see if the CDF will take me."

"That beats what you were doing before." Jack said, "Could you do me a favor when you go back there?"

"Of course, what do you need?"

"Take Miri back to Corneria with you. So she can be with her family."

"How did you know about that?" Krystal was shocked. "She didn't come out and tell you did she?"

"Of course not, Katt told me. She had overheard your conversation with Miri the other night while roaming the ship looking for something to eat."

"I imagine you're upset with her."

"I'm livid. But she made her choice and I did what I would have done regardless. The guilt is on her, not me. Worse yet is she threatened to blackmail you. I can't have that kind of thing going on my ship."

"I don't see how you just shrug it off."

"There's a price to pay for doing the right thing, I can't say it's a bargain. I try to remember there's more good people out there than bad and that keeps me going most days. I'm more upset Miri didn't tell me the truth to begin with, this could have ended sooner for all involved. By taking her back to Corneria, I can make two lives better, and that to me is worth it. Her husband didn't do anything wrong, he's probably still upset she disappeared. It's shameful she put him through all that stress and made him wait so long for her to come back."

"I'll take her back." Krystal turned toward her ship then back to Jack and smiled as she spoke. "I wish I could stay here with you. You've got a unique way of looking at the world."

"I'm your friend and your ally." Jack said as he looked her in the eyes. "And I've got your back whenever you need me."

"Why?"

"That's just the way I am. There's nothing stopping you from coming back this way if you decide you want to continue working for me. You have the locater, and you have a home here."

"I want to come back." Krystal said, shaking her head. "But I don't think I can handle seeing Fox and Fara together. Fox made me feel complete, he helped me deal with the destruction of Cerinia. He was there when I felt so alone. I don't want to be alone anymore."

"Maybe you'll see he's happy." Jack put his hand on Krystal's shoulder. "And that will make it easier to let go. We're all here for you, Blue. No one on this ship wants you to go anywhere. If you're alone now, it's because you chose to be."

"I will think about it." Krystal said, "Thank you for talking to me."

"You want to go get Miri or should I?"

"Maybe you should, I will have a hard time convincing her it wasn't me that told you."

"Right." Jack walked over to the tram, leaving Krystal waiting in the hangar, she sat down on a nearby container and looked out the open hangar doors into space. She began thinking about the surviving Cerinians, what were they like now? Did they lose their telepathy aswell? Did they even have it to begin with? If she was going out on her own, their colony would be the one place where she would be welcome. Until recently, she thought she was the last of her people, that wasn't true anymore. Her thoughts were interrupted by the tram doors opening and Jack stepping out with Miri alongside. Miri saw Krystal and darted across the hangar toward her.

"You lying little piece of trash!" Miri screamed. "I told you to keep your filthy mouth shut!" She lunged at Krystal and knocked her to the ground, pinning her to the floor. Krystal struggled to get free but Miri overpowered her and clamped her hands tightly around Krystal's neck. She continued to scream at Krystal as Jack rushed over and pulled Miri away.

"I already told you, she didn't tell me anything."

"Then who did?" Miri yelled as she struggled with Jack. "I think I deserve to know."

"It was Katt, she overheard your conversation with Krystal the other night and told me everything." Jack told her. Krystal had sat upright on the floor, rubbing her neck and head. She walked over to her ship and unfolded a small seat behind the pilot's seat. Jack continued to talk.

"I'm taking you back to Corneria, this is what you wanted isn't it?"

"Yes, but I wanted to do it my way. I didn't want to go like this."

"Well you're going." Jack said. "You've overstayed your welcome."

"Look, I know what I did was wrong." Miri told Jack. "But you have to understand my situation."

"I understand you manipulated me. You used my sympathy for personal gain and it backfired on you, so you tried it again and this time you got caught. You're no better than the scum that held you captive. In fact, you're lower, at least they are straightforward with their intentions."

"That's cold Jack." Miri said looking at the floor. "You don't have any idea what those animals did to me."

"At this point, I don't really care." Jack walked toward the tram. "I got you out, cleaned you up, and gave you anything you wanted, if that was a ticket back to Corneria then I'd have done that too. This is the last thing I'm doing for you. Well, Krytsal is doing it, unless she's changed her mind."

"No." Krystal said. "I will take Miri back to Corneria with me. I told you I would."

"Thank you Krystal. I appreciate it."

"Wait." Miri interrupted. "How will I find Rodney? Where would I even start looking."

"I took care of that overnight." Jack said. "I had the shipnet run a trace on him. He's living in a small flat on the northern side of Corneria City. 8000 block, unit 17."

"That's amazing you were able to track him like that, thank you. Before I go, I was wondering if you could do me one more favor?" Miri asked.

"What?" Jack replied.

"Well... Rodney. My husband, has been without my income for so long and I'm sure his finances are stretched pretty thin. I was wondering if you could send me back with some extra credits so we could get our family off to a good start."

"I don't believe what I'm hearing." Jack looked at Miri in disbelief. "You're asking me for money? Now?"

"It doesn't have to be alot, just 50 thousand so we can get a nice place on the outskirts of Corneria City."

"Get the hell off my ship. You disgust me." Jack picked Miri up and dropped her into the seat in Krystal's ship, then began walking back toward the tram. He stopped and turned around to see Krystal right behind him.

"Well I guess this is goodbye. Be safe Blue. Whatever you decide to do, be safe." Jack stepped back and saluted Krystal. "Ah the hell with it." He walked over to Krystal and hugged her tightly before stepping back and smiling. Krystal looked at Jack in shock.

"Was that for me?" Krystal asked before turning to Miri who was sulking in the cockpit of Krystal's ship. "Or her?"

"That was for me." He said, "Be safe Krystal." Krystal walked over to her ship and looked back at Miri who glanced up with a cold stare before turning her head and staring at the floor without saying a word. As she closed the canopy and lifted off, Krystal looked back into the hangar one last time. It was empty, Jack had gone back into the ship, he didn't stay to watch he leave. Back inside the ship, Fox and the others had heard the commotion when Jack took MIri out to the hangar.

"What was all that about?" Fox asked.

"Just something that needed to be done. It's taken care of, no need to worry." Jack said, his voice was calm trying to hide his emotions. "We've lost two, and I'm going to need those positions filled."

"What do you mean?" Katt asked. " Where did Krystal go? What happened to Miri?"

"Miri wanted to go back to Corneria, as you already know. I helped her get back." Jack looked at the floor, then back to Katt. "Krystal has decided to... seek other opportunities."

"What?" Fox said. "She's gone?"

"Yes."

"I should have tried to stop her." Fox said as he paced around the room. "I knew she was upset. I didn't think she'd leave. She's not going back to Star Wolf is she?"

"I have no idea what she's doing. This is how it happened, you can't really change it now." Jack walked over to Fox and handed him the data pad he had shown Krystal. "Since it's your team, I need you to fill in the gaps. This is a list of the Cornerian pilots recommended to me by the Cornerian Ambassador. Pick two please and we will go and get them. I'd recommend picking people you know and trust. I can help them be better pilots, but I cannot help them be trustworthy."

"I don't want to do this." Fox handed the data pad back to Jack, who refused to take it from his hand. "I don't want to replace Krystal."

"Well, I'm not much of a pilot, and my job is to keep things going here on the ship. So I can't fill in. I understand you're upset about what happened, but we still have work to do and it's not going to be any easier shorthanded."

"There's one person I know that I can trust, he's not on this list though." Fox said. "He's retired, but I think I can talk him into flying again."

"No Fox. Just no. Not him." Falco said shaking his head. "We don't need a mechanic and he's not even close to being a pilot."

"But we can trust him. We just have to find him." Fox looked at Jack, "Former Star Fox squadron member Slippy Toad was our mechanic and a pilot himself. He flew with us on every mission."

"You mean flew into something every mission." Falco said.

"That too." Fox said laughing. "He'd do anything to help out though. I can't think of anyone else right now."

"How about pilot number 54657?" Jack said as he pointed to the data pad still in Fox's hand. "She's the most decorated of the female pilots and it looks like she has seen some combat in the past. Received a commendation for heroics during the first Lylat war and the Aparoid invasion, she might be..."

"No." Fox interrupted. "Pick someone else, anyone else."

"I wanted you to pick." Jack said. "If I'm picking, she's it. I'll contact the Cornerian Ambassador and get her location, you will go to her and escort her back. While you're in Lylat, get Slippy aswell.

"Jack, I'd really prefer someone else." Fox told him. "Fara isn't ready for all this."

"You'll get her ready, I have complete confidence in you. Krystal was the one who suggested it believe it or not. Does she have the skills to do the job?"

"Yes." Fox said. "Without a doubt she does."

"And I bet you know right where she is?"

"Yes, I do." Fox said reluctantly.

"Then I'll jump you into Lylat right away." Jack walked to the elevator leading up to the bridge, he turned around and spoke as the doors shut. "I'll open the portal as soon as you're undocked, we need to get to Io station and pick up the Interstellar Iridium people soon, so let's do this quickly."

"Falco." Fox said as he turned to his friend. "I'm going to get Fara, I need you to try and track down Slippy. If he doesn't seem interested, just let him stay where he is."

"Right." Falco nodded.

"Katt, I need you to stay here and see if you can't get some information from Jack about what happened to Krystal and Miri. I don't think he's the type to harm either of them, but I want to make sure."

"Ok, I'll go up and see Jack." Katt said as she walked toward the elevator. Fox and Falco made their way to the Airwings docked in the_ Prospect's_ rear hangar. They launched into space and orbited the ship as the jump portal opened into Lylat. Fox went through first followed by Falco, the portal dropped them into Lylat not too far from Corneria, Fox plotted a course for the planet while Falco turned toward Aquas and Slippy's last known location.

As Fox approached Corneria City he could still see the scars of the Anglar war, buildings with shattered windows and scorched facades dotted the city's skyline, contrasting with the polished and gleaming new construction. The rebuilding was going so slowly, Fox wondered if what Jack had told him about the human building materials was true. He'd have to ask when he returned with Fara.

When she wasn't on duty with the Cornerian Defense Force, Fara lived in a small suburb just off the main road into Corneria City, Fox was hoping she wasn't home. He set down in a clearing a few blocks from her home. As he walked along the road worried thoughts raced through his head. What would her reaction be? Will she want to go? What about her duties to the CDF? He approached the door and raised his hand to knock, there was the click of a lock and the door creaked open slowly.

"Fox?" A timid voice came from behind the door. "What are you doing here?"

"I came here looking for you." He told her. "Can I come in?"

"I don't think that's a good idea." Fara responded. "Are you in some kind of trouble with the CDF?"

"Not that I know of." He said. "Why?"

"Your name is all over the news. There was some kind of incident with a cargo ship and you shooting down a scout squadron."

"No." Fox shook his head. "It didn't happen that way. Fara, you have to believe me, I didn't shoot down anyone. Those ships were drones, they didn't have pilots. The real pilots were rescued a few days ago. Please tell me they mentioned that on the news. I came here because I know someone interested in hiring you."

"You want me to do mercenary work? No thanks, I like being loyal to Corneria and not whoever signs my paycheck."

"It isn't like that, these are jobs out beyond the reach of the CDF, people who hide where the CDF doesn't look or can't go. We're provided with ships, a place to stay, and steady work. I wouldn't be working for them if they weren't helping Corneria."

"They said the pilots were recovered, they didn't say where or how." Fara opened the door and stepped outside. "I doubt the CDF would let you land here if they thought you'd shot down those ships. I haven't flown with them in over a month, I have no idea what's going on out there."

"Wait until you see." Fox smiled and took her hand. "Come with me, I promise you won't be disappointed." Fara reluctantly got her ship and followed Fox out to the place where Jack had opened the portal. Fox signaled for Jack and in a few moments, another portal was opened into Lylat. Fox approached it and began his run through.

"Just follow me, keep away from the edges and keep your thrusters at full."

"Fox, what is this?" Fara asked before turning away from the portal. "Where does it go?"

"It's alright, just trust me." Fox told her. "This is how I got into Lylat. I can't really explain how it works, but it's safe if you don't go near the edges. It goes out to a system not far from Lylat where we're fighting the remnants of Andross' army and some former Anglar pilots that are trying to rebuild their forces."

"Really? In another system?" Fara thought for a moment. "Alright, let's go."


	11. Chapter 11

**Part 11 **

Fox banked his ship to the right as he exited the portal with Fara close behind. The portal collapsed and vanished as Fara watched. She wasn't the type to get nervous, as she sat back in her seat, it the situation started to unsettle her. She didn't recognize any of the star patterns here and her navigation system was completely blank, Fox had gone out of sensor range and left her stranded. Her com system crackled to life, it was Fox.

"You alright Fara?" He said.

"Yeah." She responded. "I'm a bit nervous out here Fox. None of my instruments are working. Where did you go?"

"I'm here, just had to make sure we were in the clear before we docked."

"Docked?" Fara asked. "Dock with what?"

"Turn your ship around." Fox told Fara. She fired her thrusters and did a half loop. As she rolled her ship upright a wall of scarred plating appeared in front of her, she quickly banked away just missing it. Fara looked back at the _Prospect_ as one of the hangar doors slowly opened.

"Is this your carrier?" She asked Fox.

"It's not mine." He said. "It some kind of converted mining ship, I can get you some more information about it when we dock. For now, it's home." Fox and Fara docked with the _Prospect_ and met Falco and Katt standing in the hangar.

"So what took you guys so long?" Falco asked. "You used to be fast Fox."

"I had to convince Fara everything was alright. The Cornerians still think we had something to do with the disappearance of that scout squadron. Where's Slippy?"

"I found him on Aquas. He wasn't interested in coming out here." Falco told Fox. "He's got a family and all. I didn't want to push the issue, I knew you'd come back with Fara."

"Yeah, he did." Fara said. "Would one of you mind telling me what is going on around here?"

"We're working for a species who's technology is more advanced than what we have now, they call themselves human. They have set up colonies in some of the systems around Lylat and have a huge network of planets and star systems beyond this one, probably several hundred." Fox told her. "The wars in Lylat have caused problems for them, some of the Anglars and even surviving parts of Andross armada have been attacking them and running back into Lylat. They can't get at their base of operations because the Cornerian government won't let their ships enter the system to chase the bad guys and the CDF doesn't have the ships or manpower to cover Lylat beyond Corneria and a few other planets. So they give us ships, and a way to get into and out of Lylat quickly, and pay us to go where they can't."

"Fox that's treason." Fara looked at him in disbelief. "You're undermining your home planet by doing this. How could you turn against your own people for credits?"

"It's not like that Fara. We're going after people who are common enemies of Corneria and the humans. The Cornerian government had helped set this up. The humans have been shipping supplies into Lylat to help rebuild, it's helping to speed up the recovery."

"I don't believe our government would keep this secret. Not from the Defense Force, this is information we need to know."

"Believe it." Jack said as he walked from the tram. "They don't want to panic the general population so they're keeping you in the dark. We settled in this region of space about five years after the first Lylat War, we contacted your government and they granted us permission to move into the region. We control four systems and have probes or scouts in nearly every system in this region. Our intention has never been conquest, only to explore, expand, and colonize vacant systems."

"And who are you?" Fara said, stepping back as Jack approached.

"This is Jack, Fara." Fox said as he stood between her and Jack. "He's the human who put this together."

"I had some help from Krystal, don't forget."

"Krystal?" Fara turned to Fox. "Not the same one that worked for Star Wolf?"

"Yes, the same one." Fox told her. "She's changed since then, Wolf was using her to hunt his rivals. She crossed paths with Jack here and then came looking for me. Jack helped her out with Wolf."

"I don't know how you'd help that one." Fara said. "She was kill on sight in Lylat for years before she disappeared."

"I tried to shoot her in the head." Jack said smugly. "It's amazing how that can alter an individual's perception. She was on my list too, but this was a better solution to taking her life."

"You had orders to kill her?" Fox turned and looked at Jack.

"Yes, it's not something she needs to know about."

"Why would you do that?" Fox walked over to Jack. "She's your friend isn't she?"

"At the time she wasn't. I had already heard the name Kursed but we didn't have a description of her. All we knew was it was a Cornerian and they worked alone. When I found Krystal she was being held a gunpoint, scared and crying, she didn't have the look of a hardened killer. It wasn't until after we left the planet I learned she was the one called Kursed. I couldn't to take her life, she reminded me too much of myself in my early days with the HSF."

"Wait, Krystal was Kursed?" Fara looked at Fox in disbelief. "The Cornerian Defense Force has Kursed listed as dead. Killed somewhere out beyond Lylat."

"In a sense that's true." Jack told Fara. "She gave up that life and buried it outside Lylat. Besides, where do you think they got that information? The CDF can't keep track of what's going on beyond Corneria's moon, they certainly wouldn't know about events outside Lylat."

"I guess you're right." Fara said. "I'm ashamed to admit it, but you are right."

"We need to get moving soon, the Interstellar Iridium people will be expecting us."

"The who?" Fara asked.

"Fox, could you get Fara up to speed on our operation and where we're at right now? I need to get the ship to Io station."

"Sure." Fox said. The _Prospect_ made it's way to Io station, as the ship came out of warp and approached one of the station's docking bays a transmission came over the com.

"_Fortune's Prospect_ this is Sandra Dinan of the Interstellar Iridium Corporation, we are currently orbiting Io station at 55 kilometers and request you approach and dock with our ship so we may transfer our representative."

"Understood Ms. Dinan, we're en route now." Jack said into the com. The _Prospect_ approached Dinan's ship, an unarmed civilian vessel about 150 meters long with a golden polished exterior. The ship's hull was curved with no sharp angles and no visible seams, from a distance it resembled a disc with a flat area where the ship's thrusters were attached to the hull. As they moved into position to dock with the ship it extended a tube shaped arm and latched on to one of the _Prospect's_ exterior hatches.

"We're docked." Sandra said over the com. "Hold position, we're sending a representative over."

"Why don't they all come over?" Fox asked.

"I have no idea, they've always done things this way. They send a rep over to check out the ship and then they send their people over when the rep gives the all clear. I'm not sure if it's narcissism, or paranoia. Anyway, let's go greet our guest." The group walked down the hall from the bridge to the hatch the disc shaped ship had connected to. Jack opened the inner airlock door and waited for someone to knock from the other side.

"This is that alien you were talking about before?" Katt said.

"Probably, just be polite and don't get upset if she touches you. The Kelden are a very physical people and see touch as a way to establish friendship, they take insult of you don't let them get close."

"It's going to touch me?" Katt looked around at the others. She was about to speak again when there was a soft knock on the airlock's outer door. Jack stepped into the airlock and pulled the lever. The airlock seals hissed as the lock's disengaged and the door opened. Jack stepped back out of the airlock and turned to face the others followed by tall slender figure. He stepped to one side and let the figure walk into the ship.

The Kelden was tall, wearing a white and gold dress that stretched to the floor and had a high collar that stopped just below the jaw. Her skin had a pebbly texture and was colored with a mixture of bright green and teal with yellow on the underside of her arms and hands. She had a plume of brilliant red hair that tapered back into a braided tail that extended nearly to the floor. Her eyes were a dark red and they looked rapidly around the room, the creature was visibly nervous.

"I..am...Needra." The Kelden shivered as she struggled with the words, "I...rep...pre...scent...In...ter...stiller...Err...id...umm." Jack stepped up and held out both his hands, palms up.

"Good to meet you Needra, I'm Jack. Welcome aboard." She looked down at his hands and slowly placed her palms to his, wrapping her fingers around his wrists. Her face relaxed and she smiled slightly. "I'll introduce you to the rest of the crew. This is Fox, next to him is Fara. Over there is Katt and the tall one is Falco, they are Cornerians. We're all glad to have you on board." Needra walked over to Fox and the others and cautiously looked them over, she put her hand on Falco's head and ran her fingers through his feathers. Falco looked around nervously as she stepped back toward the door.

"These are new." she said pointing at Falco. "I like this one. I will tell my lady you are ready." Needra walked back into the airlock, opened the outer door, and went to the Interstellar Iridium ship. Falco looked at Katt who was still glaring at the airlock door. He turned to Jack.

"She said I was new? What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know, she didn't seem to react to the others that way." Jack thought a moment. "I wonder if she's seen a Cornerian before, just not one like you."

"But they just came out here right?" Fox said. "That was what the Admiral told us."

"Yes, she did." Jack said. "You can't trust these people, they will do anything to turn a profit. They are human, but they are a completely different culture. Their minds operate in a totally different way. I wouldn't be surprised if their spies have been operating out here." Dinan's voice crackled over the ship's com, interrupting the conversation.

"We're on our way over. Please be ready to go as soon as we arrive."

"Waiting on you." Jack said. A few minutes later there was a knock at the airlock door. Jack opened it and Needra, Sandra Dinan, and three other humans stepped into the ship. Sandra Dinan was a young woman of average build with short platinum blonde hair, she was dressed in a gray pantsuit with dark red trim and carried a small briefcase and walked with her head slightly turned upward. She ignored the group standing by the door and approached Jack.

"Are you in charge here?" She asked with a tone of disgust in her voice.

"I am." Jack responded.

"Name and rank."

"Jack Roberts, Ensign."

"Ensign?" Dinan said laughing. "And they let you command a ship?" She motioned to one of her followers, who was typing on a small datapad. She took it from his hand and began reading aloud.

"Roberts, Jack. Graduated Human Systems Federation military academy March 14, 2945. Date of birth, undisclosed. Location of birth, undisclosed. They don't even list your grades or service medals. That tells me two things." She began walking down the hall as she spoke. "Number one, you're not an Ensign. So until you tell me your rank you are unfit for command. Number two, you're a spaceborn. Which puts me in charge of your ship for the duration of my visit regardless."

"No, it does not." Jack walked down the hall after her. "Fox McCloud is the squadron commander. If you choose to re leave me of my command, it's passed to him."

"What?" Fox said.

"Absolutely not!" Dinan yelled as she turned and faced Jack. "I will not have one of the fuzzys running this ship."

"Cornerians, Ms. Dinan. Try to show some respect to the commanding officer. This is a joint operation and rank is observed."

"Fine." Dinan gritted her teeth as she walked over to Fox. "I have an assignment for you. When you are ready. My sources tell me you are not running a mining operation at all, that you're some kind of covert squadron that does dirty work for the HSF. I have permission from your superiors to put this operation of yours through it's paces."

"Ok." Fox said. "What do you want us to do?" Sandra Dinan motioned to one of her followers again, he brought up a small traveling bag and placed it on the floor. She opened the bag and pulled out another datapad.

"One of our planets has been taken over by a rogue group of workers." She typed on the datapad as she spoke. "I want you to go there and regain control of the planet."

"A whole planet?" Fox looked at the group. "Just us?"

"It's not as difficult as it sounds really. Three or four of you should be enough." Dinan told Fox. "They're a small group, no more than fifty or so people. Once they start taking casualties, they should lose the will to fight. They are held up in the only spaceport on the planet's surface and we can't get anything on or off the planet because of it."

"What planet?" Jack asked.

"TF305, it's a bit of a trip from here. It will take this class of ship a minimum of two jumps."

"The failed terraforming project? I thought they abandoned it."

"We did, but the planet still has a wealth of minerals to exploit. So we maintain a presence there. We should leave right away, those workers are holding up our operation there and need to be delt with."

"These are pilots Ms. Dinan, they are not trained or equipped for a ground operation." Jack said.

"Well, since you're going with them, maybe you can show them how it's done." Sandra replied smugly as she walked down the hall. "Oh, one more thing. I will need quarters for the duration of my stay. Since the ship has no commanding officer, I will take that room, and Mr. Kirby as my head assistant will take the first officer's quarters. The rest of my entourage can take the remaining cabins on the crew deck." She looked back at Jack with a smile. "I guess that leaves you homeless, again."

"There's a couch in the lounge, I'll be fine." Jack said. "I'll set the ship's autopilot for TF350, we should be there in 20 hours or so." Sandra Dinan and her group walked toward the crew quarters while Jack headed for the bridge.

"I think we should talk about this with Jack." Fox said to the others. "We need to know what we're going into."

"We?" Falco said. "I'm a pilot, my talent is wasted on the ground. I'm not going."

"Fox." Fara spoke as she turned to face him. "This isn't what I came here for."

"I don't think I will either." Katt replied. "We aren't working for them." Fox sighed and looked at his friends, before asking Katt what she had learned from Jack about Krystal and Miri.

"Well." Katt said. "He's telling the truth, I even saw the video from the security hangar. She left and took Miri back to Corneria. Jack doesn't know where she went, what she is planning to do, or if she will come back."

"Do you really think it's appropriate to be asking about her with me standing here?" Fara looked angrily at Fox.

"I'm worried about her, that's all. I'd hate to see her get into trouble again." Fox told Fara, who simply shrugged her shoulders and began walking away.

"I'm going up to the bridge to talk with Jack." Fox told the group. "I want to know what he has planned for this mission. We might not be the ones on the ground." Fox walked toward the bridge and opened the door. Jack was sitting in the captain's chair looking over a large display screen with images of a rocky, barren planet and a towering maze of pipes and framework that appeared to be a large industrial compound of some sort straddling a massive canyon.

"Is that where we're going?" Fox asked.

"Yes." Jack replied. "This is TF305, known locally as Dust."

"Dust?"

"About 35 years ago Interstellar Iridium tried to reverse engineer the HSF's terraforming technology, their results were mixed. TF305 stands for Terraform project 3, 5th attempt. Prior to their attempt to transform the planet, Dust was a typical barren world with a thin atmosphere of carbon dioxide and methane with a faint magnetic field holding it all together. Interstellar Iridium managed to get a breathable atmosphere established on the planet but forgot to work in stages, so while the planet's atmosphere was made suitable for life, the surface was not. There needed to be some form of water or plantlife to hold the powdery dust that covered the planet in place. The result, a near perpetual dust storm so intense you can't see more than a meter in any direction and breathing the atmosphere for more than a few minutes cakes your lungs with dust making it impossible to breathe. Any time spent on the surface is done so in a full environment suit."

"How do people survive there?" Fox asked looking at the screen.

"They stay inside or underground. From what I've gathered, the workers on the planet have taken some of the mining drones and used them to attack any ship that gets close to this structure. The mining drones are about half the size of an Airwing, heavily armored, and equipped with a laser that can burn through rock with ease."

"And they fly?" Fox looked at Jack.

"Not very high, probably 1000 meters at the most. They aren't very fast and don't maneuver well, you shouldn't have much trouble taking them down, just don't let them get close or they will rip your ship apart. Their mining laser has a short range but is very intense. The real danger is the tower guns mounted on the outside of the compound, they track fast and are lethally accurate. There's a sensor array on top of the tallest tower, that should be your first target. Take it out and the guns can't track you, then take the guns out. There are several other targets of opportunity around the outside of the structure, generators, air conditioning units, etc. Go after them if you get a chance."

"What about you?"

"I'll go into the compound and see if I can't get the miners to back down. That way you and your friends stay out of ground combat."

"I've done ground fighting before against the Aparoids." Fox said. "I think I can handle a few angry miners." Jack tossed him a ball.

"Squeeze it." He said. Fox held the ball and tried to crush it with his hand, it barely moved. He put it between his hands and pressed hard, the ball folded. He tossed it back to Jack, who held it up in his hand and crushed it.

"We're alot stronger than we look." Jack told Fox. "If you can keep out of close quarters fighting, it would be for the best."

"So you have a plan?" Fox asked.

"You're the pilot, I can do whatever needs to be done on the ground, but the skies are yours."

"The others don't really seem interested in the mission."

"That's fine. I want at least one of them to stay onboard and watch these people. Talk to the others and let them know what's going on, maybe they will come around to our side." Fox waked off the bridge and went back down to the crew quarters, the other members of the group were sitting in the lounge talking. They looked at Fox as he entered the room.

"Well." He said. "Jack's going to be the one doing the ground work, all we have to do is take out some mining drones and tower guns around the miner's compound. The drones are slow and should be easy targets, we can't let them get close though. The tower guns are controlled by a sensor array mounted outside the compound on top of a tower, they are a serious threat until we destroy that array."

"Fox, I'm not really sure I want to do this." Fara said. "I mean, we don't know who any of these people are. Why take sides in a conflict we don't know anything about?"

"Honestly, I don't know." Fox said shaking his head. "If you think this is a bad idea, I'll go tell Jack we don't want to do it. We aren't getting paid to hurt anyone, just hit some targets on the outside of a compound."

"Sounds like easy money to me." Falco said.

"Can't pass that up." Katt replied.

"Fara, if you don't want to go on this mission, you're welcome to stay here." Fox said. Fara looked at him shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm not sure mercenary work is for me." She said. "There's too many questions unanswered."

"This is a unique situation, Fara. It isn't always like this."

"Fox is right." Falco said. "Give it a chance."

"So when do we leave." Fara asked.

"We're on the way there now." Fox told her.


	12. Chapter 12

**Part 12**

The _Prospect_ completed the first of it's two jumps and stopped in open space to let the reactor recover before making the second. Fox had gone down to the crew lounge to pass the time and sat silently at the table in the center of the room with his head in his hands, the weight of recent events wearing on his mind. Suddenly a voice broke the silence and he looked up. It was Needra.

"My lady requests you meet with her." She said in a raspy voice. "Come this way please."

Fox nodded and got up from the table, he followed the strange creature through the ship's darkened corridors to the tram. They stepped inside and Needra pushed one of the buttons, starting the tram. As it traveled along the track Fox looked at Needra, who stared at him with unblinking eyes and a friendly smile. He smiled back and tried to start a conversation.

"So, what do you think of all this?"

"I am honored." She responded, placing her hand on his head and running her fingers through his fur. "You are not like the others. You are kind."

"Others?" Fox was surprised.

"Yes. I have seen you before, but they were not like you."

"What do you mean?"

"I cannot find the words." Needra looked at the floor. "I have not been beyond for very long. So much is new here."

"Maybe we could show you around when we are done with the mission."

"I would like that." She responded with a smile, then started to frown. "My Lady does not permit me to venture beyond her sight for long."

"Do you miss your home?" Fox decided to change the subject.

"Every day of service brings my family honor, I do not long for home." The tram stopped and Needra stepped out followed by Fox. She led him to the hangar that housed their Airwings where Dinan and two of her assistants were waiting. Fox didn't recognize the other humans, they were not in the group that came aboard the ship with Dinan. He looked around the hangar and spotted a small ship unlike any he had seen before, tucked away behind the Airwings. Dinan's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Mr. McCloud." She greeted him with a cold, expressionless face. "So glad you could join us. I have something for you." She pointed to a cluster of crates sitting nearby.

"What are you doing to my ship?" Fox asked.

"Giving you something to help with the mission." Dinan said. "Your ships use a gravity diffuser for propulsion that should not be affected by the dust in the planet's atmosphere, the turbine based engines of your mission ships would be disabled in minutes. In this instance, your Airwing is more suitable for the mission."

"That still doesn't answer my question. What are you doing to my ship?"

"Easy Mr. McCloud." Dinan gestured to one of her assistants to open the nearest crate. "This is the Javelin Shield Penetrator, one of the most advanced weapon systems Interstellar Iridium has ever developed. It consists of a launch vehicle and a number of smaller missiles housed inside. This particular model is designed for fighters and other small combat vessels and houses six missiles." Fox looked at the weapon inside the crate, barely visible under the packing material.

"What does it do?" He asked.

"Shortly after launch, the launch vehicle will separate and release it's missiles, which will then target the nearest hostile craft. The system is designed in such a way that the missiles communicate with one another in flight and will not pick the same target. The tip of each missile is loaded with a concentrated electromagnetic pulse that bores a temporary hole in enemy shields, allowing the warhead to pass through and penetrate the hull. It is nearly 100% effective at destroying fighter sized ships."

"You're going to put those on the Airwings?"

"Yes, your ships will have two launch vehicles each, taking the place of your Cornerian smartbombs. They should reduce the number of drones you will have to actively engage."

"Thank you, I guess." Fox looked at one of the weapons, already mounted to Fara's ship.

"The launch vehicle is dumbfire." Dinan continued. "Simply face the incoming targets and fire the weapon. It's onboard targeting system will do the rest. These are very expensive tools, Mr. McCloud. Please put them to good use."

"You're fitting them to all the Airwings?"

"Yes. I want the entire squadron to benefit from them."

"One of us is staying behind to help manage the mission." Fox told her. "I don't know who yet."

"That's good to know." Dinan smiled as she spoke. "Anything to help the mission go smoothly. We have quite a bit of money invested in that operation, success is priority." She walked out of the hangar bay followed by the two humans, leaving Needra and Fox standing in the hangar. Fox walked over to Fara's Airwing and examined the missiles attached to it's underside. He looked at his reflection in the missile's highly polished and seamless exterior. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Needra walking up behind him, her clawed feet clicking on the floor of the hangar. He turned around and put his hand on his weapon as she approached.

"My lady has given you a gift." She said with a glowing smile. "Are they not grand?"

"I don't know what to think about them." Fox said shaking his head. "She should have asked me before she tampered with the ships."

"I am sure she did not wish to anger you." Needra held out her hand to Fox.

"It's fine." He said, taking her hand. "I'm sure they will help us. So tell me, where did you see another Cornerian like me?"

Needra thought a moment then walked over to the crates and picked up a data pad. She began typing on the device, then turned it toward Fox. He looked at the images and jumped back, it was Star Wolf. Each member of Star Wolf was listed with a picture of their ship and pilot along with an unreadable block of human text. He remembered the device Jack had given him when they first met, took it out and started to translate. The three members of Star Wolf had been in contact with the people from Interstellar Iridium and were being paid for services rendered. The information on the data pad did not say who contacted them or what they were being paid to do, only that their performance was adequate.

"I know these pilots." Fox said, handing the data pad back to Needra. "They are not good people."

"They were not kind to me." Needra said. "I did not like them. Please, do not tell my lady I said such a thing, she would be disappointed in me."

"I won't, do you know what they were hired to do or where they are now?"

"No, I can tell you they will not be here until later." Needra looked at the floor as she spoke. "I do not know when. I wish they were not coming."

"Do you know anything about the mission we've been given." Fox asked. Needra thought a moment then responded.

"No." There was a rumble as the ship engaged the jump drive again. A small box attached to Needra's belt began to glow and vibrate. She put the data pad down and looked down at it.

"My lady is calling." she told Fox. "Please excuse me." She hurried out of the hangar and into the tram, not giving Fox a chance to get onboard before the doors closed. Fox looked back into the hangar and the data pad on the floor then over to the small ship behind the Ariwings. The ship was of the same design as the Interstellar Iridium ship they met near Io station, only very compact with room for half a dozen people or so. There was no obvious way to get on board, the ship's gleaming exterior was completely seamless, no windows, no doors, no hatches anywhere. He decided to leave the ship alone and turned his attention to the still active datapad on the floor nearby. He picked up the device and walked out of the hangar. Fox boarded the tram and began the trip back to the crew quarters. He decided to call the bridge to tell Jack about the weapons and the ship docked in the Airwing hangar, Jack didn't respond. He tried again, no response. As Fox stepped off the tram he remembered Jack said there was a couch in the lounge, he decided to look there. As he approached the door to the lounge he could hear voices from inside, someone was yelling, it was Fara.

"I still don't understand why you can't do this yourself." Fara yelled. "You're supposed to be some kind of specially trained soldier, and you can't even fly a basic combat mission?" Fox couldn't hear who she was yelling at, he guessed it was Jack, Fara continued.

"Motion sickness? That's the worst excuse I've ever heard, your people don't have something that can correct it?" There was a break as Jack responded. "I see, well, this is the only mission I'm doing. After this is over, I'm going back to Corneria and you can bet I'm going to tell CDF command everything about you and your operation." Fox decided to open the door. Fara was standing in front of Jack who was seated at the table in the center of the room, calmly listening to her. Fox stepped into the lounge and set the data pad on the table, Jack reached over and pulled it toward him never taking his eyes off Fara, who was still yelling.

"...we are more than capable of policing our system, we don't need the Human Systems Federation to step in and help. This whole operation violates so many of our basic operating procedures the very mention of it would get you incarcerated."

"That would make you an accessory." Jack replied. Fara grunted and stomped out of the lounge, not bothering to look at Fox who was standing just inside the doorway.

"What was that about?" Fox asked.

"She's worried about legitimacy of our mission, that's all." Jack said. "I don't blame her, anytime Interstellar Iridium is involved there's half of the story not being told. Where'd you get that data pad?"

"Needra left it in the hangar. She took me down there to talk with Diana about the mission. They have a small ship docked with the Airwings, and there were two other humans in the hangar with her. They were not part of the group that boarded at Io station."

"They must have docked up when we stopped to let the reactor recover, they're up to something." Jack looked at the data pad. "What else did you learn?" Suddenly, Jack grabbed the data pad off the table and hid it behind his back as the door to the lounge opened and Sandra Dinan stepped into the room. Jack quickly changed the conversation.

"Like I said, it's a basic mission, the big problem will be seeing through all the dust and debris in the atmosphere." Fox picked up on Jack's words and continued.

"The Airwing has some basic infrared and thermal imaging sensors, we should be fine."

"I heard someone yelling, one of the pilots giving you trouble?" Dinan asked.

"No, just some last minute concerns." Jack said calmly.

"I see. My people have been going over the modifications to this ship, I'm impressed." Dinan said as she sat down at the table. "I didn't think the Argus class mining ships had this kind of flexibility. You've got a mini carrier here with limitless potential."

"Glad you like it." Jack said with a smile. "She's just home to me."

"I want it." Dinan whispered as she leaned over the table. "You can name you price."

"She's not for sale."

"Be reasonable Jack, everything's for sale. I'll tell you what, I have a considerable amount of pull in the corporation. Give me a price and I'll sweeten the deal with full month on the homeworld. What do you say? I bet you've never even seen it."

"Only in pictures." Jack hesitated. "Still not for sale." The smile quickly dropped Sandra Dinan's face, she turned and looked over at Fox.

"We're here, time to go." Sandra said. "Get to your ships and be ready to launch in fifteen minutes. Jack, I'll have one of our people drop you at the tram station about 100km from the compound, all you have to do is ride in and retake control of the compound, the miners inside are expendable. That tramway is listed as out of service, so they won't expect you to come in from that direction."

"The squadron of ships flying overhead won't give me away?" Jack asked.

"This is the best I can come up with given the equipment and personnel we have available. Now get down there and take care those miners." Sandra motioned for Fox to follow and walked out of the lounge, giving Jack a chance to hide the data pad inside the sofa, he then made his way to the Airwing hangar with the others and prepared to board the Interstellar Iridium shuttle. As the hangar doors opened the group looked down at the planet below. From above, the orange colored planet appeared featureless except for a few swirls of pale clouds that slowly circled the poles, the surface was completely obscured.

"There it is." Jack said. "Dust."

"TF305." Sandra told him. "We don't name planets in the corporation." Jack looked over at Sandra and back to the group. Fox, Fara, and Falco had already boarded their ships and were preparing to make their way toward the planet's surface. Katt had volunteered to stay behind and keep an eye on the Interstellar Iridium people, she stood by Falco as he closed the canopy of his ship and launched out of the hangar with the others, followed by the shuttle carrying Jack.

Jack's shuttle set down near a monorail tram station situated alongside a massive canyon network that nearly circled the planet's equator. He stepped outside wearing the same body armor he had when he and Krystal met and a full face helmet that hissed slightly when he exhaled. Despite the planet's desert like terrain the temperature on the surface was nearly freezing and he shivered a bit as he looked around, the dust blocked a good portion of the sunlight and tinted everything a dull orange color. He stumbled through the thick dust and howling winds toward the tram, once inside he waited for Fox and the others to get into position.


	13. Chapter 13

**Part 13**

"I'll get the tram moving first. Hopefully, they see it coming and send out the drones. That should give you a few minutes to see what you're up against before they spot you and attack. You'll have to use thermal imaging to see through the dust, the terrain is pretty flat so you should be able to see the compound through the scanner."

"Why did Sandra offer you time on the homeworld?" Fox asked.

"It's a long story." Jack replied. "I will tell you just a day on the homeworld would cost more credits than most people earn in a lifetime. That was quite a bribe she offered me."

"Your homeworld must be some place." Falco said.

"I'll tell you more when we get back, let's do what we came down here to do. Remember, hold position until you see the drones, understand?"

"Yes, we'll circle here until we see the drones, then charge in." Fox said. Jack started the tram and began his decent into the canyon that snaked it's way across the planet's surface and toward the compound. At the canyon floor the wind and dust that covered the surface was minimal and visibility was quite clear. The tram moved slowly along the track, within minutes of his departure a swarm of box-shaped mining drones took flight and charged toward the tram. The drones were larger than what Fox had expected, at almost three meters across and more than twice that in length, they were nothing like the tiny service drones on the _Prospect_. Fox and the others began targeting the drones, he decided to test the new weapon Sandra Dinan had given him before the drones could close in. He slowed his ship and fired. Fox watched as the missile separated as it neared the drones, each smaller missile hitting and destroying a drone almost instantly. Fara and Falco charged forward and prepared to launch their own Javelins.

"Fox, what was that?" Jack's voice broke over the com.

"A weapon that Dinan lady said would help with the mass of drones." Fox said.

"What's it called?"

"Javelin Shield Penetrator." Fox told him. "They work well." Jack watched from the moving tram as another of the Airwings fired a Javelin. It separated almost immediately into six smaller missiles.

"Fox! Turn and run, now!" Jack yelled.

"What?" Fox said. "We're almost there."

"The missiles can track you too, turn and run!" Jack yelled again. Fox watched as three of the smaller missiles banked away from the cluster and started turning toward them. He quickly looked around for a way to evade the rogue weapons.

"Fara, Falco, follow me into the canyon below, we need to lose those missiles." He told the others. The trio turned and dropped into the canyon as the missiles roared overhead, one crashing into the ground as it tried to follow. The explosion showered debris onto the tracks running along the canyon floor just ahead of Jack, forcing him to slow the tram. The two remaining missiles tracked Fox and the others through the canyon.

"Which missile was destroyed?" Fara asked.

"I don't know, I didn't see who it was tracking." Falco said.

"It was Fara's." Fox told them. "She was right along the top of the canyon when the missile turned and crashed."

"You sure?" Falco said.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Fara, I need you to pull out of the canyon, try to get behind the missiles, and shoot them down. Falco and I can't outrun them for much longer, we're running out of canyon."

"I'm on it." Fara said as she pulled up and out of the canyon, the two missiles stayed on their targets. She looped around and dropped in behind the missiles firing her lasers wildly hoping the tiny targets would cross into her line of fire. Her laser struck one of the missiles near the edge of the canyon, she couldn't avoid the explosion as her ship was pelted with debris as the shock wave tossed it into the canyon wall. She spiraled toward the floor of the canyon, trying to bring the ship's nose up to avoid plunging directly into the ground. Her ship smashed into the canyon floor, bouncing several times and tossing twisted pieces in all directions before sliding to a halt in a crumpled heap. Bits of rock from the canyon wall rained down around the wreck.

"Fara! Fara!" Fox yelled. "Say something!" There was no response.

"Fox there's still one more missile." Falco said. The two remaining Airwings pulled out of the canyon and flew along the ground in opposite directions. The pursuing missile followed Falco and Fox moved in behind to shoot it down. As he approached they began taking fire from the compound's defense towers. The laser blasts hit the ground all around them, flashing and kicking up dust with each impact. Fox managed to destroy the missile chasing Falco and immediately turned toward the compound, he fired his remaining Javelin and banked away as the missile separated. The smaller missiles picked out several of the turrets on the compound and destroyed them, making it easy for Falco to hit the sensor array.

"Jack, Fara is down in the canyon somewhere." Fox said.

"I saw one of the Airwings go down." He responded. "I should be at the crash in a moment. Did you hit the compound?"

"Yes." Fox said. "I wanted to make sure Fara is alright before we hit it again."

"Don't wait, hit them now before they get more drones in the air." Jack told him. "Whatever happened to Fara isn't going to change if you attack that compound. I'll let you know her status as soon as I get there." Fox didn't respond as he and Falco charged toward the compound, hitting the remaining turrets and power generating structures. The exterior lighting flickered off as they circled the structure, Jack spoke over the com.

"Fox, good news, Fara is alive." He said. "She's out cold and has a few cuts on her head from bouncing around in the cockpit. The hull of the ship buckled on impact and it's got her pinned inside the wreck, I need some time to get her out. She's breathing and I've got her hooked up to an oxygen mask, her helmet was damaged and can't keep the dust out. Thankfully, the dust isn't as bad down here in the canyon, I doubt her time spent without a mask did any damage to her lungs. I don't see any obvious injuries but I'll check her out as soon as I get her into the tram."

"Thank you Jack." Fox said. "I'll be down there as soon as we down the last of these drones, they just keep coming."

"The power is offline at the compound right?" Jack asked.

"Yes. I can't see any lights on and the turrets stopped firing." Fox told him.

"The drones should have gone offline as soon as the power went out."

"So the controller isn't in the compound?"

"Looks that way, you said they keep coming. Where are they coming from?"

"Somewhere north of the compound, they come at us in small groups of ten or so."

"Something's wrong, that compound is the only structure on this side of the planet. I need to get in there and find out what's going on. Once I get Fara out of the wreck she needs to stay in the tram until we get to the compound, it's sealed against the dust and we can lift her out with one of the shuttles once we're inside. I don't want you to try and land down here with all those drones still flying around, the last thing we need is a group of them coming down here. We should be at the compound in a few minutes, you won't have to cover us much longer."

"We're doing just fine." Falco interrupted. "It's not like these things are a challenge. I'm getting bored."

"But there are alot of them." Fox said. "They are coming in from different directions now and in larger groups."

"Do what you need to. I'll have Fara out in a minute and we'll be on our way." Jack said. Fox and Falco continued to fight the waves of drones as Jack continued cutting away at the Airwing with a torch he had found in the tram's tool crate. Once Fara was free, he put her on a collapsible backboard and carried her over to the tram. Jack laid the backboard with Fara strapped to it across one of the bench seats, restarted the tram, then began looking for the tram's emergency medkit. Once he found the kit he began to examine Fara for any serious injuries.

Fara woke up in a haze, her head throbbing and the gentle thump of the tram going over the gaps in the track rumbled like thunder in her head. As her vision started to clear she could see Jack standing over her, holding some kind of small silver box that flickered with an alternating green and red laser, he was looking at something on the box and hadn't seen she was awake. Jack had put one hand on Fara's chest and was scanning her lower torso with the device in his other hand, Fara had seen enough.

"What do you think you're doing?" Fara yelled at Jack as she smacked the device out of his hand, it fell off to the side and slid across the floor of the tram. She curled up her leg and kicked Jack in the chest as hard as she could, knocking him off balance and onto the floor. Fara tried to get to her feet as the backboard she was laying on slipped off the bench and fell to the floor taking her with it. She landed sitting upright and facing Jack, who had gotten to his feet and was walking toward her. Fara looked around for some kind of weapon, when she couldn't find one she looked back toward Jack who held out his hand.

"Good to see you're awake, we're almost there." He said.

"What were you doing to me?" Fara asked as she pushed Jack's hand away.

"Scanning for internal injuries. You took quite a dive there. I wanted to make sure you were alright before we got to the compound and into a possible combat situation."

"So you're a doctor too?" Fara asked sarcastically.

"No." Jack responded. "But knowing how your species is put together makes it easier to take you apart when necessary. For instance, Cornerians lack a rib cage, in it's place are a set of overlapping bone plates held together with tissue. It does the job of protecting the lungs and heart from punctures but it shatters under blunt force and the lose bone slivers can cause all sorts of problems internally. That was my concern with you, I was checking for internal injuries."

"Oh." Fara said as she pulled down her shirt. "You could have told me that."

"You foot wasn't listening."

"I'm not hurt." Fara said. She stumbled backward and sat down on the bench. "My leg, I can barely walk."

"It was pinned in the wreck of your ship. I had to cut away part of the console to get you out. I don't doubt you've got a bone bruised or cracked." Jack walked over and picked up the metal box Fara had knocked out of his hand. He looked at the screen and began punching buttons.

"Well, which is it?"

"I didn't get that far, these low power portable scanners can't get a decent reading through clothing. Good news is what I did scan is ok, you don't have any internal injuries that I could see."

"You've seen all you're going to. So you should find some better equipment."

"It's not something I enjoy." Jack said with a smile. "Your species isn't what I would consider aesthetically pleasing."

"Same goes for you." Fara said. She looked down at her leg and tried to stand again, she winced and sat back down.

"We're here." Jack said, looking at Fara's leg. "I need you to stay low and wait until I get back. Once I see what's going on here, we can leave."

"I'm not staying here by myself unarmed." Fara said. "Give me a weapon or something I can use for self defense."

"No." Jack said as he looked forward. The tram was approaching an energy barrier that kept the dust out of the compound. The warehouse on the other side was dark and seemingly empty.

"Why not? That's ridiculous." Fara said defiantly.

"You don't like me and don't trust me. Giving you a weapon is asking to get shot in the back. I need you to trust me enough to do what I tell you when I tell you and not argue about it. Something I don't think you're able to do."

"I want to get out of here. I don't trust you but I don't dislike you and I will do what you ask. But I won't do something I morally disagree with. Besides, do you really want to tell Fox something happened to me and you didn't leave me a way to defend myself?." Jack thought a moment as Fara spoke, he reached behind his back and pulled out a small pistol.

"This is a Mark VII coil pistol, it carries 750 rounds in the grip here and can be set to fire at different velocities using the dial in front of the trigger guard, a faster moving projectile will penetrate armor and shields but can go through unarmored targets. It's set in the middle for now, if you need to shoot and it's not getting through, just turn the dial to the right. These lights at the back of the gun will go from green to red when you fire shots in rapid succession. If they all go red the gun overheats, these buttons on either side pop out, and the power cell under the barrel moves forward and disconnects from the weapon, disabling it. You have to wait until the lights go back to green, then push in the buttons and slide the power cell back into place. The higher you set the projectile velocity, the faster the weapon overheats. Make sure you know what you're shooting at, this weapon is lethal up to 2500 meters and can penetrate all but the best personal shields and armor."

"That's more like it." Fara said looking at the weapon.

"Fox, we're almost in the compound. No sign of hostiles. How are things up there?" Jack waited for a response, Fox didn't answer. He tried again before trying to raise Falco and again received no response. The tram had passed into the warehouse under the compound and stopped just short of the end of the track. The instant it stopped the tram was rocked by a explosion that shattered the windows and tossed Jack and Fara to the floor. Jack got to his knees and peered over the shattered window frame into the warehouse. Half a dozen green lights were bobbing in the darkness. He crouched down and crawled over to Fara, who was clutching her leg and covered in broken glass..

"There's a bunch of walker drones to our right, one of them must have fired a rocket. Are you alright?"

"I landed on my leg when I fell, it hurts worse now." Fara told him.

"Can you get up?"

"I can't even move it."

"Hold still." Jack went over to the med kit and pulled out a syringe. He went back to Fara and before she could stop him he plunged the needle into her leg. She loosened her grip as the pain slowly faded.

"What did you do?" Fara asked.

"It's a numbing agent." Jack said, feeling the bones on her leg. "I don't think it's broken. You can walk on it, at least until the chemical wears off, just be careful. When it does wear off your leg will really hurt, you've got about half an hour."

"So what now?"

"Open the door on the left side, we go out that way and you cross the tracks behind the tram. Then we take them out, just aim for the green lights and turn the dial on the gun all the way to the right. Ready?"

"I'm going first?"

"Yes, the drones are programmed to fire at human forms. You're not human, so they won't see you as a threat until you attack. They communicate with eachother, once you hit one, the rest will turn on you. I need you to find the one with the rocket launcher and take it out first, once it's down we can pick off the others."

"I don't even know what I'm looking for." Fara yelled at Jack.

"Here, put this over one eye and look toward the drones." Fara did as Jack asked and looked into the darkness. As her eye adjusted she could see the bobbing green lights and the outlines of what looked like walking robots, the room was full of them, one was carrying a large object..

"There's one carrying something, it looks like a big tube."

"That's the one. Are there anymore like that?"

"Not that I can see."

"Ok, I'm going on you. Get into position and take the shot when you're ready. When they turn to fire on you, I'll take out as many as I can. Just stay down until the shooting stops." Fara moved into position, the numbing agent Jack had given her didn't completely dampen the pain and she moved slowly with a limp. She reached the crate and leaned over the top to take the shot. She heard a metallic whirring just off to her side, one of the drones was right there. The machine raised it's weapon and started to turn just as it's head exploded.

"Fara! Rocket!" Jack yelled as the drones turned and began firing on the tram car. Fara found the drone, took aim, and fired hitting it squarely in the head. The drone fired at the tram as it's head exploded in a shower of metal and sparks. The rocket hit the tram interior and exploded scattering bits of metal and plastic in every direction. The drones had turned their attention to Fara and began walking toward her, there were more in the room than she had though. She frantically tried to destroy as many as she could as they crept closer, their laser fire never letting up. Fara could see flashes off to her left, it was Jack trying to draw the drones toward him. Fara took the opportunity to take out the last of the distracted drones, she then crossed the room to see if Jack was ok.

"I didn't see you after the rocket hit the tram." She said walking over to the battered container where Jack was sitting, picking bits of metal and glass out of his leg.

"I managed to get out before it hit." Jack said, getting to his feet. "The explosion knocked this container against the wall and tossed me over in the corner, sorry I couldn't get up fast enough to cover you. Seems like you handled yourself well. You're a pretty good shot with that pistol."

"Thank you." Fara said with a smile. "What's next?"

"We get out of here, this whole operation was a trap. There aren't any miners, so we're done." Jack told her. "There should be an emergency shuttle around here somewhere, it's probably on one of the upper levels."

"What about Fox and Falco?"

"I can't reach the _Prospect _either, my guess is this structure is shielded and our signal can't get out, or the communications relay on the _Prospect_ is offline. We can try again once we get outside." Jack and Fara made their way to the compound's upper levels and found the escape shuttle, a small craft similar to the one Fox had seen in the _Prospect's_ hangar. Jack prepped the ship for takeoff but with the power out all over the compound the hangar doors would not open, he stepped out of the shuttle and over to a dimly lit panel on the back wall. After a moment the lights in the hangar flickered on and the doors slowly opened. Jack climbed back into the shuttle and sat down in the pilot's seat next to Fara.

"What did you do?" Fara asked as the doors stopped about halfway open.

"Rerouted emergency power from the energy shields that keep the dust out to this room. Let's get out of here."

"I think that shot you gave me is starting to wear off. You were right, it's _really_ starting to hurt."

"When we get back to the _Prospect_ I'll show you how to use the medical equipment to check yourself out. Since you won't let me do it." Jack said with a slight smile.

"You're right, I won't." Fara said defiantly, as she spoke a group of mining drones flew past the partially open hangar doors.

"That isn't good." Jack said.


	14. Chapter 14

**Part 14**

"We need a gunner, so you're going to fly us out of there." Jack told Fara as he started toward the back of the shuttle.

"I can't fly this thing." Fara yelled at Jack.

"Put this in one of your ears." Jack handed her a small cone shaped device with an amber colored light at the tip and a spongy ring around the base.

"What does it do?"

"It's a neural interface, it connects your brain to the ship's computer. Just visualize the instruments and controls of a ship you are familiar with and the shuttle will duplicate them in a hologram. Move your hands and feet as you would when flying your own ship and the shuttle will respond. You don't need to learn how to fly this ship, it will learn how you want to control it."

"If you say so." Fara put the device in her ear and looked at the blank screen in front of her. As the ship powered up, the instruments slowly shifted until they matched those of an Airwing. Embedded in the armrests of the pilot's chair were glowing orange spheres with holograms of the Ariwing's control handles above them. Fara reached out and gripped the hologram as Jack had instructed, although she couldn't feel the handle, it mimicked her every motion.

"Where are you going?" Fara asked as Jack stepped away from the pilot's chair.

"I'll be running the guns." Jack told her. "I'm going to keep the drones away while you fly us out of here." Fara nodded and slowly pulled out of the hangar, the larger human ship was sluggish compared to an Airwing and it took her a minute to adjust. Suddenly, the windscreen lit up with brilliant red laser fire followed by several small explosions ahead of the ship, just barely visible in the dusty air.

"I've got drones incoming, get moving." Jack said into the intercom. "They'll cut us to pieces if they get close."

"I can't see where I'm going."

"The only direction you need to go is up. Give me 15000 meters as fast as you can, there's too many to shoot down. Do whatever you need to and keep some distance between us and the drones." Fara throttled the ship to maximum and pulled up, the ship lurched forward and began to climb. She could hear the laser turrets firing constantly and saw flashed of green light off to her side. She corkscrewed the ship and began weaving from left to right trying to keep the drones from getting a close. Some of the ship's instruments began flashing as the ship shook violently, finally the laser fire stopped and the orange haze slowly faded into dark open space, they made it. Fara rolled the ship in celebration.

"Nicely done." Jack said. "Just go easy on the aerobatics, we're missing a good portion of the right side compartment."

"But we made it out."

"We did." Jack told her. "But I left my stomach back there on the surface."

"I still can't believe you have motion sickness."

"When I signed up to be a CSU, they give me the option of an implant that improves reaction time, hand eye coordination, and enhances some of the senses. It has some side effects that vary from person to person, in my case, it was only motion sickness."

"Is it worth it?" Fara asked, looking over her shoulder at Jack.

"Every mission I go on is supposed to be my last. I take any advantage I can get to ensure it isn't. A sour stomach is a small price to pay."

"What do you mean every mission is supposed to be your last?"

"There's this myth that runs through the HSF that a CSU is an elite operative used to prevent large scale conflict. The truth is by the time one of us is sent on a mission the fleet's already mobilized and on their way. We aren't expected to return or succeed, but they send us in anyway, hoping we will. We're not a preventative measure, we're a last effort."

"You're expendable." Fara said, shaking her head. "The CDF would never treat its people like that. It must be terrible for you."

"It's hard to make friends knowing you could be dead tomorrow." Jack told her. "But this is what I signed up for and my career can only end one way. Retirement isn't an option."

"You can't just tell them you don't want to do this anymore?"

"No, there's only one way out." Jack said as he made a gun with his hand and put it to his head, mimicking the pull of the trigger. "After so many missions, high command gets the idea you're worth keeping around and stops sending you out with the odds stacked against you. Assignments like the one we are on now are a good example of the kind of work seasoned CSUs are given." Fara slouched down in her seat, saying nothing. She looked at the console infront of her.

"Fox. Falco, is anyone out there?" Fara said.

"We're here." Fox responded. "We were overwhelmed by the drones, we had to get away and draw some of them off."

"It was Fox's idea." Falco chimed in. "I would have stayed and fought them off."

"We are out and headed back to the ship." Fara said looking at Jack and shaking her head. "I'm ready to get back to Lylat." As Fara approached the _Prospect_ with Fox and Falco close behind Jack stared quietly at the ship.

"Something wrong?" Fara asked.

"The ship's dark and one of the hangar doors is open." Jack said. "They won't respond to my calls."

"I hope Katt is alright. We shouldn't have left her alone with those people." Fara set the damaged shuttle down in the _Prospect's_ open hangar. Jack had told Fox and Falco to stay outside and keep watch while he went in and restored power to the ship. Fara watched from inside the shuttle as Jack made his way over to a console in the hangar, after a few minutes the energy field that holds in the atmosphere came back online and he gave the signal for Fox and Falco to land.

"What happened?" Fox asked as they stepped into the tram.

"The ship's main reactor is offline." Jack told him. "She's running on backup power now, which kept life support up on the crew deck but cut everything else. It's going to take some time to get the reactor up and running again, until then, we are stuck here."

"We need to find Katt and the others." Falco said as the tram stopped. The group stepped out and walked toward the crew quarters. They stopped at the sight of Needra lying face down in the middle of the hall, a circular scorch mark marred the back of her head. Fox and Fara looked away as Jack kneeled down to check the body, Falco continued down the hall.

"She's dead." he said as he stood up. "Shot at close range with a laser. We need to find Katt."

"I'm here." Katt said in a soft voice as she peeked out from behind Falco and looked at Needra's body. "She was so sweet, why did they do that to her? She could have stayed here with us."

"Katt, what happened?" Jack asked.

"They couldn't take her, there wasn't room on the shuttle. So they killed her. Then the lights went out and it got quiet. I ran for my room as soon as I heard them shooting and locked the door. After the power went out they couldn't get it open."

"You're safe now." Falco said. "I'm here and..."

"No, she isn't. None of us are." Jack interrupted.

"Why? What's going on?" Fox asked.

"With the ship's reactor offline and the engines cold, it's being pulled down into the planet. We don't have enough power in the reserves to generate the kind of thrust needed to break out of the gravity well. The ship is going to crash."

"How long do we have?" Fox asked.

"How will we get back home?" Fara asked right after.

"You'll have to take your ships out and drift for a bit. I can use what's left of this ship's power to put out a distress call and beacon. One of our nearby ships will follow the beacon and come by to pick you up. You've got some time before impact, probably two hours or so. After that the ship will start to enter the atmosphere and be moving so fast you won't be able to undock safely."

"So we just leave and drift in space until someone picks us up?" Falco said. "What a stupid idea."

"Falco!" Fox yelled.

"He's right, but I'm not sure there's any other way. Someone needs to stay behind and make sure they get the signal of course. It's my ship, so it's me." Jack said, looking at Fox.

"Can you make one of those portals with the reactor offline?" Fox asked.

"Yes, but it won't get you anywhere, the reserve power isn't meant for that."

"How far could you go?"

"Probably three hundred thousand kilometers or so. If I turn everything, and I mean everything off I could probably get three hundred fifty thousand. The portal for a jump distance that short would be very unstable and I'd have no power to go through it or prevent it from collapsing."

"Could you use the planet to speed up the ship, open the portal, and let the ship drift through to the other side of the planet and out of it's gravity?"

"It's dangerous, but it could be done. We're orbiting the planet as the ship is being pulled down, I can't jump through the planet but I could jump far enough away from it that it's gravity wouldn't be an issue."

"It seems better than falling into the planet doesn't it?"

"I want everyone off the ship before I try though. If something goes wrong, I want to keep casualties to a minimum."

"What about her?" Katt asked, looking at Needra's body still lying on the floor.

"I'll wrap her up and jettison her before I make the jump." Jack said. "I'll be as respectful as I can be given the circumstances. You need to get off this ship so I can power everything down." Fox and the others made their way to the hangar and left the ship while Fara went to the hangar on the other side of the ship and took one of the ADFs. While they were leaving, Jack took Needra's body and wrapped it tightly in a bedsheet before placing it in one of the _Prospect's_ jettison tubes. He said a few words and pulled the lever listening for the rush of air and the metallic clank of the hatch closing. He then put on a space suit and began shutting down the ship's life support as well as the red warning lights and buzzers that were now sounding as the ship rapidly approached the planet.

"I'm going to start the jump now, I'm out of time." Jack told the group. "If all goes well you should find me on the far side of the planet in about thirty seconds. I won't be able to communicate, so just dock with the ship and I'll close the doors and repressurize the hangar once you're inside. If things don't go well, it was a pleasure to work with you all."

"We'll see you on the other side of the portal Jack." Fox said as the darkened _Prospect_ approached the portal. "Let's circle around the other side of the planet and see if Jack made it through, then we'll find a way to get out of here."

"I can't let you do that Star Fox." A familiar voice boomed in Fox's cockpit. "I'm afraid this is where you'll be staying."

"Wolf?" Fox said. "How'd you find us here."

"And more importantly, how did you get out here?" Falco asked.

"That's privileged information I'm afraid." Wolf said with a chuckle.

"Wolf?" Fara said, "Wolf O'Donnell of Star Wolf? The hero of Corneria out here? I'm glad to see you sir, we have a situation."

"A situation that just got worse." Leon piped in as the Star Wolf carrier approached Fox and the others. The ship was a modified Cornerian carrier with a battery of heavy laser cannons mounted on the upper part of the ship, and several smaller laser turrets at the front and rear. Fox turned and took off at full thrust as the carrier's weapons opened fire. The other's followed with the Airwings easily able to pull ahead of the carrier. The Star Wolf team launched from the carrier and pursued Fox and the others around the planet where Jack and the silently drifting _Prospect_ were waiting.

"Get them as far away from that carrier as you can before engaging." Fox said. "We don't stand a chance against them if we have to dodge fire from that ship."

"Fox, why are we fighting them?" Fara asked. "Wolf's on our side now."

"No he's not." Falco yelled. "Didn't you see him start shooting?"

"Wolf's out for himself, just like he always was." Katt told her. "He showed up and started shooting, he's not here to help."

"I don't believe that." Fara said, turning her ship around. "He doesn't know what's going on, that's all."

"What are you doing Fara?" Fox yelled. The Star Wolf ships approached Fara and began circling.

"Dumb move girl. You should have listened to your friends." Wolf said as he targeted Fara's ship and began firing. Fox charged toward them, firing at Wolf's ship and forcing him to turn and fight back.

"Fara, are you alright?" Fox asked as he led Wolf away from her ship. Falco had gone after Leon while Katt chased Panther away from Fara and the rapidly approaching carrier.

"Yes, the shields on this human ship are amazing." Fara responded.

"You should see the weapons." Falco said.

"Target sighted, bring the carrier into range and let's get this over with." Wolf barked.

"I see it. Coming into range, ETA five minutes." A familiar voice responded.

"Miri?" Katt said.

"Hi Katt." Miri said in a cheery voice. "What do you think of my new friends?"

"I think you're in bad company lady." Falco told her.

"No worse than that blue tramp that was hanging around with you." Miri said. "It's a shame she couldn't come out here with us. She really wanted to see you all burn."

"I don't believe Krystal would do that." Fox said. "I know her better than that."

"Mmm, you don't know her like I know her." Panther told Fox, "She's as cold blooded and deceptive as she is beautiful."

"Cut the chatter and shoot them down." Wolf yelled at the others. "We're here on business, not to talk." The two groups continued their fight, with the outnumbered Star Wolf squadron never able to give chase for more than a few moments before being forced to evade another member of Star Fox, though Fox and company could not gain the advantage over Star Wolf's faster ships.

"I'm in range, opening fire." Miri said. The Star Wolf carrier charged it's heavy laser battery and fired at the _Prospect_, hitting the ship almost dead center and leaving a glowing hole in the hull. Gas and debris poured from the hole of the drifting ship as the carrier prepared to fire again.

"Direct hit." Miri screamed. "Firing." Again the carrier hit the _Prospect_ with it's heavy laser, this time the shot burned completely through one of the hangar bay doors. Some of the _Prospect's _exterior lights flickered on as it's engines began to glow.

"Hit it again before it can get away." Wolf yelled. "Quit playing around and aim for something important this time."

"How am I supposed to know what's important?" Miri snapped back at Wolf.

"If it's glowing, it's important." Wolf Barked. "You told me you'd seen inside that ship and you knew where to hit it. If you lied to me you will be sorry."

"I've got it this time, don't worry." Miri responded. The carrier fired again and struck the _Prospect_ with a bright blue flash. The ship's shield system had come online and barely prevented the shot from reaching the hull. Several of the _Prospect's_ rail turrets turned toward the carrier and began to fire leaving bright blue and yellow streaks as the projectiles sped toward their target.

"Don't get between me and the carrier." Jack said. After a few salvos the projectiles from the _Prospect_ began piercing the carrier's shields and hitting the hull with a bright white flash. The two ships continued to pound away at eachother while Fox and the others kept Star Wolf running. With his team locked in an endless fight with Fox and the others and the carrier badly damaged, Wolf finally gave in.

"Turn the carrier around and get away from that ship." he yelled. "Break off the attack, we're done here, call for the portal." A few moments later a jump portal opened and Star Wolf and their heavily damaged carrier retreated into it and disappeared.

"Looks like they're gone. I'll open one of the hangars, dock up if you want to." Jack said to the others.

"How bad is the damage?" Fox asked.

"The hull's breached in the tram tunnel just behind the forward hangar bay on the right side, that laser cannon hit her pretty hard and the forward part of the ship is completely inaccessible. There's a decent size hole in the upper door of the forward hangar bay on the right as well, not much damage inside though. I couldn't get the shields up in time to avoid taking a few hits. The good news is she's not in danger of falling apart in space."

"What's the bad news?" Falco asked.

"I had to use a device we keep for emergency reactor starts like this to refire the reactor but I burned most of the energy recharging the shield and weapon systems. The reactor can't reach a high enough temperature to self sustain. It's spitting out enough energy to keep the ship's systems online but power output will decrease as the reactor cools. We're stuck again with a slowly draining power core."

"What are we going to do now?" Katt asked.

"Dock up and I'll tell you." Jack told Katt. Fox and the others docked with the damaged ship and began making their way to the bridge to meet Jack. Fara pulled Fox to one side as Katt and Falco continued down the hall.

"Fox." Fara said.

"Yes." Fox replied.

"You really don't believe Krystal had anything to do with what happened?"

"No, I don't."

"Then you're a fool. Sooner or later you're going to have to accept that she's a rogue and can't be trusted. Hopefully before it gets you or someone around you hurt."

"Fara I..."

"No excuses Fox. I'm not naive enough to think you don't still have feelings for her. But it's getting dangerous. You need to make a decision, either keep chasing her or just accept what everyone else already knows. I'm not going to wait too much longer for you to figure it out."

"I know, but this is different. If Krystal was helping Wolf, why wasn't she there with them. We had them out numbered and she would have known that and told Wolf. He's not one to pick a fight when he's at a disadvantage."

"I'll be honest, I didn't expect Wolf to be like that. Not after what happened in the Anglar war, I thought he was a hero."

"He is, Star Wolf stopped the war and saved Lylat from the Anglars. But I knew Wolf before that and I know what he's really like. All he wanted to do was remove the bounty from his head, he doesn't care about anything but his own needs. The rest of Corneria might overlook his past, but I never will."

"I guess I feel the same way about Krystal." Fara said as the others came back from visiting Jack on the bridge.

"Fara, what happened to Krystal was my fault. I was the one who sent her away."

"Then maybe she needs you more than I do." Fara said as she started to walk away. "I guess it's something we both need to think about."

"Fara I..."

"Hey Fox." Falco interrupted. "Jack wants to see you." Fara turned and followed Katt down the hall with Falco right behind. Fox was done with that conversation anyway and Falco gave him a fast out. Fox went to the bridge to meet Jack, who was standing at one of the consoles looking over the damage to the ship.

"Nice work with Wolf." He said as Fox walked up behind him. "You really took the fight to them."

"I didn't expect them to show up out here. And Miri with them of all people."

"Yeah, didn't see that coming." Jack told Fox, shaking his head.

"Do you think Krystal was involved in the attack?"

"No, I think Miri stole the locator I gave Krystal and used it to track us here. What I don't know is how she got involved with Wolf."

"Or how Wolf managed to get out here."

"He is working for Interstellar Iridium, I'm sure they're the ones who jumped him out here. That carrier had Interstellar Iridium weapons mounted on it."

"I saw there was a report on Wolf in the datapad that woman left behind. How did you know those were their weapons on Wolf's carrier?" Fox asked.

"Over the years I've been shot at by enough of their weapons to know one when I see it. They didn't upgrade the ship's shields when they added the weapons, meaning they weren't planning on us being able to shoot back. Not with the _Prospect's_ weapons anyway."

"What a mess." Fox said as he shook his head. "We're stuck out here with no way back, Wolf is working with another human faction, Miri's gone rogue and attacked us, and who knows what happened to Krystal."

"When we get back into Lylat we're going to have alot of work to do." Jack turned and walked toward Fox. "I can't have you or anyone on your team distracted, that's how lives are lost."

"I know. Fara isn't going to like it, but I need to go look for Krystal. I don't want her going down the wrong path again."

"That isn't for you to decide, she will make her own choices regardless. All we can do is deal with them."

"As soon as we get back, I'm going to look for her." Fox said as he started to walk out of the room. "You can help me, or not."

"I'll help you, you won't be able to find her without me." Jack said, "She's flying a human ship so her range is limited by her options for refueling. That means hiding out in Lylat isn't possible, she's probably at the Cerinian refugee colony on Alpha III. She had said something about going there when this is over." Jack looked out over the front of the ship and pointed into space.

"While you were docking with the ship I got a response to my distress call, they should be arriving any moment now."


	15. Chapter 15

As Fox looked out into space, a distant flash of light caught his eye. He squinted at the odd flicker as the ship suddenly began to shake. Fox steadied himself against the wall as a ship nearly the size of the _Prospect_ drifted silently past. The ship was unlike any he had seen before, a huge irregular shape resembling a piece of driftwood with circular markings along it's blue and gray hull. He looked again at the ship as it slowly turned and began to approach the_ Prospect_ a second time, Fox looked back where Jack was sitting and watching from the captain's chair.

"You don't seem nervous about that ship." Fox said to Jack.

"It's an Acera trade ship." Jack said with a smile. "They've agreed to loan us some power to get the reactor back online in exchange, we're going to jump them to their destination."

"Acera?" Fox said as a soft melodic whistle echoed in the room.

"Understood, we're ready for you to come aboard." Jack spoke into the com as he looked at Fox.

"What was that?"

"That was the Acera. They communicate via tuned whistles, which takes a bit of getting used to. Once you get an ear for it they're easy to understand, I've got a vocalizer you can use that will translate if necessary, it's in the cabinet to the right of the door, just put it in your ear. You can come with me if you want, they're just coming aboard to coordinate the energy charge with their ship. They shouldn't be here more than an hour or so."

Fox decided to follow Jack down to meet the Acera technicians, he was unprepared for what he saw when the airlock door opened. There stood three teal skinned creatures, each just over a meter in height. They walked on four legs, the back two were roughly half the size of the front and seemed to be used only for balance when they were standing still, and had two arms that stopped at the elbow and separated into three segmented tentacles that waved eerily at their side. Their heads had five black, spherical eyes, a central eye that blinked and two each on either side that did not. There was no mouth to speak of, just a small circular hole where the chin would be with several strands of bright yellow hair sticking out.

"Welcome aboard." Jack said as he stepped out of their way. The creatures began walking toward Fox making the same melodic noises he had heard on the bridge. It was then Fox realized he had taken the device Jack mentioned but had not put it in his ear. He fumbled in his pockets as one of the creatures spoke to Jack.

"He's a Cornerian." Jack told the alien. "One of the races we've discovered out in the Becker cluster. They're a very diverse race, much like the humans and have been an interesting study. They're just a few decades from reliable light speed travel. I trust him as well as the others on this ship, we are equals here." The creature whistled, raised a tentacle, and patted Fox on the shoulder before moving on down the hall toward the elevator.

"What did he say?" Fox asked Jack as the three creatures stepped into the elevator and closed the doors.

"He said it was nice to meet you and he wishes you and your people the best."

"Oh." Fox said rubbing his shoulder. "I wasn't expecting that."

"The Acera were almost completely wiped out by a disease on their homeworld. They don't have any kind of jump drive technology and were confined to their star system when we discovered them. Our people were able to isolate the virus that was causing the disease and help the Acera eliminate it, though not without massive loss of life."

"So how did they get here if their ships don't have jump drives?"

"Most of the colonized systems like this one have a jump gate, or a ship dedicated to opening jump portals to other systems in it's range. They pay a toll and go through the portal, we're just helping them bypass paying the toll."

"Oh." Fox said.

"You look pretty rough." Jack told Fox as he walked toward the bridge. "Maybe you should get some rest, I'll let you know when we get back to Io station." Fox nodded and made his way down to the crew quarters, Fara, Falco, and Katt were already in their rooms. Fox decided to turn in for the night, he flopped on the bed and drifted off to sleep.

As he slept, images of Krystal flooded his dreams, he saw her in Panther's arms, running from Wolf, starving and left to die on some barren and forgotten world, and sitting alone in some run-down apartment, crying. When he snapped awake and sat up he could almost hear her voice again, but his room was dark and empty, only the subtle humming of the ship's engines broke the silence. Sitting in the dark with his thoughts, Fox decided to tell Fara how he really felt about Krystal. Their relationship was stalled with Fara wanting Fox to join the Cornerian Defense Force and Fox refusing to give up the ability to do things his own way. Joining the CDF meant conflicting orders, tedious procedures, and following a doctrine that three times over had failed to protect and defend Corneria. Krystal understood that, Fara could not. To Fara, the CDF was the only thing keeping Corneria safe. She couldn't understand the need to hire people like Fox to do the job she had been trained for, Fara saw him as an inferior and the only way he would ever be more to her was to join the CDF.

Fox laid back on the bed and looked at the clock on the nightstand beside it. Every human ship operated on the same time set, apparently based on their homeworld's standard day and every clock displayed it along with a preset local time. This clock displayed Cornerian time, and it was just a bit past mid day. Fox remembered the warm Cornerian summers and the afternoons he spent with Krystal just lying in the shade. Those were some of the best days he had since his father James disappeared and he was going to do whatever he could to get them back. He rolled on his side and went back to sleep.

Fox was jolted out of bed by the shockwave of a massive explosion, his room was bathed in a dull red light that pulsed in sync with the shreaking alarm that echoed throughout the ship. He walked toward the doorway leading out of his room, the door was already open and bright white lights flashed around the doorframe. Once in the hallway Fox went to check on the others, their doors were open and the rooms empty. A slight haze began to form as Fox followed a trail of strobing lights along the floor toward the central part of the ship. He could hear objects hitting the hull, the elevator was offline and a panel had opened next it, revealing a ladder where the trail of strobing lights ended. He finally caught up to Fara, who was just about to climb to the upper deck.

"What happened?" He asked.

"I don't know." Fara said, shaking her head. "I was going to get that question answered. Have you seen Katt or Falco?"

"No, their doors were open but they weren't inside. I hope they're alright."

"They're probably going the same place we are." Fara climbed the ladder with Fox right behind her, they made their way up to the bridge to look for the others. Katt and Falco were standing on the bridge when Fox and Fara entered the room. The consoles on the bridge showed various parts of the ship blinking red and the screen at the front of the room looked out over the forward part of the ship showing the gaping hole from the explosion. The ship was still under power and moving into a jump portal just ahead. Fara remembered the device Jack had given her and went over to one of the consoles.

"Fox." Falco said. "What happened?"

"I don't know. I was hoping Jack was here and could tell us."

"We haven't seen him." Katt said. "He wasn't in his room."

"Here's what happened, Krystal." Fara said with disgust as she began pressing buttons on one of the communications consoles. A grainy hologram appeared above the console, it was heavily distorted and Fox couldn't make out who it was, a second screen showed a small ship coming out of warp and approaching the _Prospect_ as a recording started to play.

"Fox, it's me." The voice was Krystal's. "They're after me Fox, Wolf and the others, I don't know how much time I have. I'm sending you my coordinates, please get me out of here." Fox looked at the video of the small ship approaching, it suddenly picked up speed as it circled the ship before slamming into the hull and exploding in a white-hot flash. The explosion blasted through the center part of the ship sending a cone of twisted debris and smoldering metal out the other side.

"So, what do you think of Krystal now Fox?" Fara said as she turned away from the console.

"I don't know." Fox said, shaking his head. "She's got alot to answer for."

"What about the ship?" Falco asked. "It looks pretty bad from here."

"Hull integrity is at 34%, forward hangar bays inaccessible due to hull breach, maneuvering thrusters offline, primary defensive systems offline, shield emitters at 28%, life support at 45%, warp core is disabled. Repair drone population is at 70% of optimal, replacements are being assembled, there's a power drain in one..."

"Alright, I get it." Falco interrupted Fara. "The ship's a wreck, I didn't need a full diagnostic."

"I was just repeating what the ship was telling me."

"The ship was talking to you?" Fox asked.

"Not really talking. Jack gave me a device that lets me access the computer and flight systems of a human ship. When I started using this console the ship started giving me information and recommending ways to fix the problems it's having. The best way I can describe it is the ship's computer gets in your head and gives you directions on how to fix its problems, then lets you make the decisions and allocate resources."

"I think I'll pass." Falco said smugly.

"Any luck finding Jack?" Katt asked.

"Not yet." Fara responded.

"Maybe he was at the impact site." Fox began. "He may not be on the ship anymore, he could have been blown..."

"I found him!" Fara jumped up from the console and ran out of the room. Fox and the others looked at screen on the console. Jack was lying still and face down in one of the smoke filled corridors near the explosion site. Fox, Falco, and Katt rushed out of the room and found Fara climbing down the ladder to the lower level. He could just make out her head in the thickening smoke.

"Fara wait!" Fox yelled down to her. "We don't know if we can get to that part of the ship."

"We can get there, it's two levels down and near the rear hangar access on the right side of the ship." Fara said. "I'm going to need help." Fara and the others rushed down to the lower level of the ship, stopping to open a nearby emergency medical cabinet. Fara was puzzling over the unusual equipment inside when she spotted a collapsible backboard. She pulled it out of the cabinet and ran toward the hangar access with the others. They found Jack lying in the hallway, the explosion had thrown him against the wall leaving a dent where he hit. His body was covered in cuts from the flying debris and his clothing and skin were badly burned, Fara tried to wake him up but was unable.

"He's a mess. We need to get these injuries treated." Fara said.

"So, anyone know how to patch up a human?" Falco looked at the others, who stood silent. "I didn't think so."

"Not helping Falco." Fara scolded. "The ship was completing it's last jump back into HSF territory when it was attacked. We can load him on that shuttle I used to get back to the ship after my Airwing was destroyed and take him to the nearest station."

"Wasn't it damaged too?" Fox asked.

"Yeah, but the _Prospect_ is so badly damaged it can't warp and there's no other ship on board that could carry him in the condition he's in. I can fly the shuttle, I just need help getting Jack on board." The group carefully lifted Jack off the floor and placed him on the backboard. They carried him through the flickering lights of the smoke filled ship to the rear hangar where Fara had docked the shuttle. The _Prospect's_ drones had made a good bit of progress repairing the shuttle though the hull was still covered in scorch marks from the mining drones lasers. Jack was carried onto the shuttle and carefully strapped down to the floor of the cargo hold, once he was secure, Fara took off and headed for Io station. Fox, Falco, and Katt went back to the bridge to continue overseeing the _Prospect's_ repairs and stabilize the stricken ship. Katt looked at a nearby console that gave an overview of the ship, after nearly three hours of struggling with the ship's failing systems they managed to repair 1% of the damage to the hull. Katt stepped back, turned around and looked at the others. Fox was staring intently at a screen near the captain's chair, his hands racing over the flashing buttons on the touchscreen. Falco was looking out over the forward part of the ship, occasionally pressing a button on a nearby console to look busy.

"Well, now what do we do?" Katt asked. "We'll never get out of here at this rate."

"I've got an idea." Fox told her. "I'm going back to Lylat to get ROB. He can oversee the repairs, work faster than the three of us combined, and act as pilot while Jack's away."

"You assume he's coming back." Falco said. "He might not survive the trip back to the station. Besides, we're done here."

"What do you mean we're done?" Fox asked.

"Krystal's gone, Jack's half dead, that Miri girl's gone nuts and is out to kill us." Falco continued. "We've got nothing left to fight with, this ship is trashed, and we don't even know who we're fighting or why. I say we ditch this wreck and go find some action that pays back in Lylat."

"So you're just walking out again?"

"There's nothing left here Fox. If you stay here, it's going to be you and ROB, just like before." A nearby console started beeping, interrupting Falco. Fox walked over and pressed the flashing button on the panel, it was call from Io station.

"Fox, it's Fara."

"I'm here Fara."

"Jack's in pretty bad shape, the doctors here told me what was wrong but I really didn't understand much of it. Anyway, I've decided to stay here until Jack's back on his feet, it might be awhile. He saved my life Fox, I owe him. I hope you understand."

"I understand Fara, keep us posted if anything happens, we'll do the same. Fox out." He switched off the console with a deep sigh and stood staring at the darkened screen. Falco used the opportunity to make his way to the door, grabbing Katt on the way out. He hurried down the hall the ladder next to the elevator, leaving Fox standing alone on the bridge.

"Where are we going Falco?" Katt asked.

"Shh." Falco said. "We're going back to Lylat, this whole thing is more trouble than it's worth. We're getting out of here while we can still get to our Airwings."

"Yeah but we can't get back to Lylat, it's too far away." Katt pleaded with Falco. "We really should stay and help Fox."

"I'm not going to stop you if you want to quit Falco." Fox said as he walked up behind Falco. "I need you to do me one favor before you go. Stay here until I get back with ROB, then I can jump you and Katt back to Lylat, you can't make it back any other way."

"Fine." Falco said. "You want to stay out here and fix this wreck, you do it alone. When you get back, I'm gone." Fox pushed past Falco and climbed down the ladder to the hangar deck. Falco went back up to the bridge and watched Fox and his Airwing pass into a jump portal directly infront of the ship. About an hour had passed when Fox requested a return portal, Katt followed his instructions and Fox was back onboard in a matter of minutes. Falco wasted no time and passed Fox docking his Airwing, then demanded to be jumped back to Lylat as soon as he was in space. Fox used the opportunity to show ROB how to open a portal and watched with clenched teeth as Falco and Katt raced through.

"Bye Fox." Katt said as she followed Falco into the portal. "I'm sorry." Fox turned around without saying a word and went back to repairing the ship.

Fara sat silently in one of the waiting lounges of Io station, the doctors had asked her to wait outside while they operated. As she looked around she caught some of the humans in the room looking at her. There was no hostility in their eyes, only curiosity, some even offered her something to drink or eat. After surveying the room she realized she was the only Cornerian there and the more she thought about it, despite seeing them all over the docking bays, she hadn't seen another Cornerian in this part of the station. The medical wing on Io station was completely white with polished floors and satin walls that bleached out any other color giving the area a dull and sterile look Fara found depressing. The echo of hushed voices and the occasional beep of the medical equipment broke what was an eerie silence, Fara could hear the shuffle of boots coming down the hall, some of the humans sitting in the lounge stood at attention as a group of what looked to be military officers approached the receptionist desk nearby. The receptionist pointed in Fara's direction and group of officers looked at her in unison. A human woman, the most decorated of the group began walking toward her, she stopped infront of Fara's chair and introduced herself.

"Fara Phoenix." She said. "I'm Admiral Constance Miller of the HSF Third Fleet." Fara looked up at the Admiral, she was an older woman, probably in the last third of her life, wearing a cylindrical hat decorated with golden rope. Her uniform was neatly pressed and decorated with various bars and medals. She leaned forward and whispered with a smile.

"This is where you stand up hun."

"I'm sorry Admiral." Fara said as she stood at attention.

"At ease." The Admiral replied again with a smile. "Don't worry about it too much, it's just a formality. The brass behind me gets uppity if I don't follow procedure. I'd like you to take a walk with me, my associates here will let us know if anything changes with our mutual acquaintance." Fara nodded and followed the Admiral down the hall to a door with a coded lock. The Admiral entered a code on the keypad, opened the door, and gestured with her hand for Fara to go inside. Fara nervously stepped through the doorway and blinked as the automated lights came on. The room was like the rest of the medical wing, plain white and sterile. There was a small table with an ornately decorated box sitting in the center and a chair on either side.

"I'm not sure how they do things in the CDF." The Admiral said as she closed the door. "But I'd like to present you with a gift."

"A gift?" Fara said, looking at the box on the table.

"Yes, a medal for your actions on your most recent mission."

"I wasn't aware I did anything worthy of a medal."

"Nonsense, you completed your objective, escaped Interstellar Iridium's little trap, and helped get one of our own back to get patched up. Humans have a rule about leaving their comrades behind, we don't do it." The Admiral opened the box and handed it to Fara, inside was a small golden medal in the shape of a five pointed star. There was an inscription above the star Fara couldn't read, but she felt a knot in her throat as she looked at it.

"Now, with interplanetary politics being what they are, I can't formally give this to you. But I think you deserve to know what your efforts mean to us. There are forces at work on both sides that are trying to take advantage of our situation with the Lylat system, it may not look like it, but you're helping to stop them."

"What forces?" Fara looked up at the Admiral.

"You've already met one, Interstellar Iridium. The other we don't have much information on, we're not sure if it's an active part of the CDF or just an entity posing as part of the CDF. They wield quite a bit of influence within your government whoever they are."

"So what is Interstellar Iridium?" Fara asked.

"Well, most of that information is classified, there's alot we don't know." The Admiral began. "I will tell you what we do know. Interstellar Iridium started as an Earth based manufacturer of military hardware, we don't know which country it originated from or what company it was. We do know they were involved in the early stages of space exploration, possibly as far back as the first landings on Earth's moon over 1,000 years ago. During the expansion into our star system, they developed a particle beam for mining asteroids that could extract minerals without destroying the asteroid itself and could be set to extract different minerals by varying its frequency."

"What's so special about that? We've been using mining beams as long as I can remember."

"Before the invention of mining beams, miners had to break asteroids into smaller pieces that could be carried in a cargo bay and brought to a refinery where the valuable minerals were extracted. It was time consuming and wasteful since only a small fraction of the asteroid contained usable minerals, the rest just took up space. There was also the danger of rogue asteroid fragments drifting away and colliding with other ships in the area. The mining beam removes the minerals and deposits them in the cargo hold of a ship leaving the asteroid looking like pumice but otherwise completely intact."

"How did they take control of all these other systems?"

"The way all corporations do, litigation. They sued us off our homeworld. Since they had the market cornered on mineral extraction they built up wealth very quickly and were able to convince the HSF command counsel to allow a buffer zone around the home system to prevent hostile alien civilizations from finding it. Then they simply setup a defensive grid around the home system and conveniently forgot to allow us access to it. No member of the HSF has been allowed to freely travel to Earth in over 400 years."

"So you can't even go to your own homeworld?"

"To preserve the environment on the planet, Earth's population was capped at 4.5billion. Pregnancy is forbidden on the planet and no one is allowed to visit unless someone else leaves. Residents of Earth often sell time on the planet for massive amounts of credits. Even if you purchase time you still have to find a way to get to the planet, and it's location is very closely guarded. We defend with our lives a planet we can't set foot on. But enough about Earth, if I continue I'll start yelling."

"I'm sorry." Fara said looking at the box in her hands. "Thank you for this, I can't put into words what this means." The Admiral stood up and walked to the, she spoke as she opened it.

"Just be careful who you show that too, the CDF does not like their own helping us out."

"I understand." Fara said. One of the officers that accompanied the Admiral came running down the hall with a small datapad in his hand. He stopped infront of the Admiral and saluted.

"Admiral, I have information on Jack Roberts, the CSU that was recently admitted here."

"What's his status?" The Admiral barked at the officer.

"Missing." The officer replied with a worried look on his face.

"What do you mean missing?" The Admiral yelled and began stomping down the hall toward the recovery rooms.


	16. Chapter 16

"How the hell did the medical staff manage to lose him?" Admiral Miller barked at her assistants.

"They didn't, he was sleeping in recovery and was checked out about five minutes ago. A group of individuals came in, flashed some paperwork and left with him without saying a word." One of the assistants timidly answered.

"Unbelievable. Lock down the docking bay, no one gets off this station until Mr. Roberts and the individuals that took him are found, do I make myself clear?" The Admiral walked up to the nurse's station near the recovery wing and demanded to see the person responsible for releasing Jack. To her shock, the nurse left with the group and had been using a very cleverly forged ID. He had been assigned to the recovery wing after arriving on station from elsewhere in the HSF network though there was no information on where he came from. Admiral Miller motioned for Fara to follow her as she and her entourage boarded a shuttle car outside the medical wing. Fara sat nervously in the shuttle as it sped through the station, she noticed the Admiral's assistants glancing at her then quickly looking back at their datapads, Admiral Miller finally broke the awkward silence.

"You'll have to forgive my assistants Fara, they don't get to interact with other species very often." She looked at the one seated directly across from her. "They're supposed to be gathering information on where that nurse, and his forged ID, came from and how he managed to avoid detection."

"Working on it ma'am." One assistant responded. "We just had a ship undock from bay 24. Unnamed vessel, no reporting marks, no ID on the hull type either."

"I said no one gets off the station. Why did traffic control allow that ship to undock?"

"They were in space at the time the lockdown was ordered. Traffic control ordered them to return to the station, they entered a docking pattern then turned away at the last minute and made a blind FTL jump out into space. We tracked the ship until it left the system." The Admiral put her head in her hand and mumbled under her breath. She paused a moment then looked up and at Fara.

"I've got a job for you and your associates Fara." The Admiral pulled out a datapad. "I need you to see if the Cornerians know anything about that ship. This is still a military operation out here and to have an unidentified ship type docked is out of the ordinary to say the least, so it must be a local hull type."

"Admiral." One of the assistants interrupted and handed the Admiral his datapad. "We've got an image of the ship from one of the sentry guns that was tracking it as it turned to run."

"Fara, does this ship look familiar to you?" Fara looked at the grainy image on the datapad, it was partially obscured by the sentry gun's targeting reticle but she recognized the ship type.

"It's a Wolfen mkII with some kind of container mounted to the underside." Fara said. "Star Wolf uses those ships. They're short range fighters, they're not equipped to come out this far."

"Well one made it out here." The Admiral said. "How many of those ships are there in Lylat?"

"Three that I know of, four if Krystal is working with Wolf again." Fara told the Admiral, who began typing on her datapad.

"Jack sent a report shortly before the Prospect was hit with that bomb. In it he detailed the makeup of the Star Wolf squadron as three fighter ships and a carrier or mothership. He doesn't mention a fourth fighter ship." The shuttle had reached its destination in the meantime and the Admiral's assistants led Fara out of the shuttle. Fara looked around, they were standing outside the docking bay where the ship had departed. It was locked down and the control panel for the door had been removed.

"Get it open." She barked at one of her assistants. "NOW!"

The Admiral's assistants managed to open the door and rushed inside the docking bay. After a few moments, they emerged and gave the all clear. As Fara stepped through the door she could hear the Admiral swearing just around the corner. The Interstellar Iridium docking bay was, like the other docking bays Fara had seen on the station, just large enough for a ship like the _Prospect _with areas on the floor marked off for sorting cargo and various equipment parked along the wall for loading and unloading. The Admiral was looking at the still open access door in the floor that led to the station's tram system.

"This is how they got him to off the station so quickly." The Admiral said to Fara.

"It shouldn't have been that easy." One of her assistants said.

"It wouldn't have been if someone had done their job and found the unauthorized employee in the medical wing." The Admiral barked in response. "Fara, you were part of the Cornerian Defense Force before you started working with Jack and Fox, is that correct?" Fara replied with a nod.

"What kind of clearance did you have? Do you know where they would take a high value prisoner like Jack?" Admiral Miller paused a moment. "I know I'm asking you to reveal details about the CDF you may be unwilling to disclose but understand if you can't locate and retrieve him covertly, we will be forced to use a more direct approach."

"A more direct approach?" Fara said.

"Once we locate Jack we would send a small fleet in to blockade the planet while a team of operatives recovers him. Any attempt to disrupt our operation would be met with extreme force."

"I was just a pilot." Fara began. "I don't really know what the CDF does beyond patrolling Lylat. I do know there's a research base on Titania where they develop new weapon systems. That's common knowledge though."

"I see. What about the others?"

"Fox might, his father worked closely with one of the Cornerian generals and that general worked with Fox after James disappeared. I don't know the other well enough to say what they might know."

"See what you can find and relay as much information as you can to us." Admiral Miller put her hand on Fara's shoulder. "I have a timetable I must follow if we find him, there's a limited amount of time I can give you to retrieve Jack before I'm required to act. Make sure your people are ready to move before you relay that information to me, if I find out first I will tell you before I file my report. It will only buy you about two days though."

"Thank you Admiral." Fara said. "I'll get back to Fox and see what I can find out."

"One more thing before you go." Admiral Miller handed Fara a small datapad. "This is my contact for information on Lylat. He works with the freighters that carry cargo into and out of the system. You'll find him down on the lower decks of the station where the Cornerian freighters dock, he's probably overseeing a cargo transfer. Ask around for Boomer and give him this. I'll be in touch."

Fara went to thank the Admiral who quickly turned and walked away, she looked at the palm-sized datapad, it was powered on and locked with a password. She decided to attempt to find this informant before returning to Fox and made her way to the lower decks of the station. The lower decks of the station were reserved for Cornerians working with the CDF and Fara felt comfortable being with her own people, many of the freighters employed mercenary pilots to guard them on their return trip to Lylat, these pilots were clean and professional, far removed from the rough and rowdy crewmen that occupied the bars and lounges on the station's lowest levels. Fara began asking around, posing as a passenger looking to board the next ship to depart. After asking a few passers by she finally got directions to one of the nearby docking bays and rushed down the narrow corridor toward the open docking bay door.

Inside, the humans had removed the walls between several of the standard size docking bays so cargo could be quickly transferred between ships without tying up the station's tram system. There were two human freighters docked at either end of the bay with three Cornerian freighters docked in between. Small cargo vehicles darted between the ships towing containers of various sizes, Fara's attention turned to a loud crash just off to her right.

"Oh what the hell!" A young Cornerian yelled as she kicked a walker drone very similar to the ones Fara and Jack encountered on Dust. She was wearing silver colored coveralls with a reflective yellow band down each arm and leg and another around the waist. The drone had tripped on a seam in the floor and dropped its package as it fell, spilling the contents on the floor. Other drones continued to walk past the scene and grab cartons from a nearby conveyor before marching out to the docked ships. The drone struggled to right itself as the Cornerian continued yelling and kicking.

"Walker drones, more like stumble drones, or fall flat on its face drones." She turned and looked at Fara. "You'd think a species that's perfected interstellar travel could at least make a machine that walk over an uneven floor."

"I'm sorry." Fara said to the girl. "I was looking for someone."

"Passengers need to check in with receptions on deck 40, just follow the green line on the floor and try not to walk into anyone." The Cornerian replied before turning back to the drone. "Dammit! You piece of junk! Stripped out another leg servo!"

"I was hoping I could find someone named Boomer here." Fara said as the Cornerian continued to ignore her.

"HEY NORMAN!" The girl bellowed across the docking bay. "UNIT SIX THREE SEVEN THREE NEEDS ANOTHER LEG SERVO! IT FELL ON ITS ASS AGAIN!"

"Miyu." A voice responded from behind them both. "Is it really necessary to yell?" Fara turned and saw a human standing behind her. He was burly and just a bit shorter than Fara, with crew cut gray and blonde hair and wearing the same coveralls as the Cornerian girl He carried a datapad attached to another device on his hip with a wire which was connected to some kind of partially exposed implant that wrapped around his ear on the right side of his head.

"Sorry Norm." Miyu said. "Things are alittle tense down here right now. We've got alot of stuff moving around today."

"Only if you make it that way." Norman responded. "Is anything broken in the package?"

"No sir."

"Then pick it up and put it back on the conveyor so another drone can take it to the ship. Then power down the drone and we'll repair it later." Miyu began gathering up the spilled contents of the container. They looked to be personal belongings, mostly clothing with a few small keepsakes wrapped in packing material. Norman then turned his attention to Fara. "Passengers need to check in..."

"...with the receptions on deck 40. I know." Fara said. "I'm looking for someone named Boomer, do you know where I can find him?"

"Yeah I do." Norman replied. "But you're going to have to answer some questions first."

"My name is Fara Phoenix, Admiral Miller sent me to find Boomer. She says he might have information for me." Fara began.

"Boomer?" Miyu interrupted. "What kind of name is that?"

"I'm Boomer." Norman replied. "You've got a datapad for me right?" Fara handed the datapad to Norman who quickly entered the password and read the contents, then handed the datapad back to Fara with a sigh.

"Is something wrong?" Fara asked.

"No." Norman replied. "Sometimes I just wonder what high command is thinking. You're a member of the CDF, and I'm supposed to share any intelligence I have on the CDF with you. No offense to you, but that just doesn't make sense. Anyway, the brass says you're clear so I guess they know what they're doing. What is it you need to know?"

"I'm not really part of the Cornerian Defense Force anymore, I've been working with a small group of Cornerian mercenaries being paid by the HSF." Fara told Norman. "We use a human carrier and human ships made to look like Cornerian Airwings."

"Interesting." Norman said as he sat down on a nearby cargo container. "You're part of the Silver Fox team I've heard about. That explains why the Admiral has such an interest in you."

"Yes." Fara replied. "The human who set up our operation, Jack Roberts, was injured in a recent attack and the ship badly damaged. I brought Jack here to for treatment while others are trying to repair the ship. He was taken from the medical wing of the station and we believe he's somewhere in Lylat."

"And you want me to find out where."

"Yes." Fara said with a nod.

"There's alot of chatter coming from Lylat right now, it might take a couple of days to sort through it all. I've got people on nearly every planet, if he's there, I will find him."

"If you can, I'd like you to locate two other individuals as well. One is a blue fox named Krystal, the other a gray wolf with a scar over her left eye named Miri, they were working with a local mercenary group called Star Wolf. They were both members of our group at one time and were involved in the attack on our ship."

"I know Star Wolf." Norman said as he typed on his datapad. "Interstellar Iridium is paying them under the table, I have no idea what they're doing though. Wolf recently docked on Macbeth and collected a bounty on outlaw named Kursed. What throws up a red flag is Macbeth is an industrial planet that was heavily damaged during the wars, all the prison facilities we know of are inside the military base on Titania or on Corneria itself. I'm going to start my search there and see what I can turn up. I'll relay any information I find to you. I haven't heard of the other two though, Star Wolf only lists 3 members. But I'll see what I can dig up."

"They were working with Star Wolf." Fara looked at the floor. "Krystal went by the name Kursed for a time, she might know where Jack or Miri is. I'd like to see what you find though, if whoever took Jack knows we're looking for him, they may move him or disappear completely."

"I was thinking the same thing." Norman replied. "I'll get the word out right away."

"Ok. Norman, I've know you for how long and you never told me you were some kind of spymaster." Miyu said.

"I'm not, I just relay information to people who ask for it." Norman said with a smile. "One of the advantages to having a computer where half my brain should be. I send and receive information all the time and no one ever knows. No one is going to know, right Miyu?"

"Yes sir, I'll keep my mouth shut. I like my job too much."

"If they find out you've been talking, they'll blow you out an airlock. I'd hate to see that happen." Norman said. "This is the best cover I've ever had, no one comes down here and it's easy to hide if I need to."

"Right, so you going to let me in on the spy thing too?" Miyu asked.

"Not unless you want to have a life threatening combat injury that requires half your brain to be cut out and replaced with a computer." Norman said as he patted Miyu on the back. "But first, there's Core Strike training, everyone graduates, but few survive their first mission."

"Nevermind." Miyu said and went back to repairing the drone.

"Thank you." Fara said to Norman. "I think I'll get back to the ship now and see how the repairs are going." Fara left Norman and Miyu in the docking bay to continue their conversation and boarded one of the station's elevators to the station's upper levels ,as she made her way back to the docking bay where she had left the shuttle, station security stopped her outside.

"This docking bay is closed." The security officer said, stepping infront of the door and holding his weapon across his chest.

"My ship is in there, how am I supposed to get home?" Fara asked the officer who simply nodded. She could barely see his eyes from behind the amber colored visor on his helmet, he was looking at something behind her. Just then, she heard footsteps and turned around as she was grabbed by another station security officer who cuffed her hands and tossed her into the back of a nearby shuttle. The two officers climbed in behind her and shut the door, one took a seat near the door, the other at the front of the shuttle's cargo area and tapped on the bulkhead.

"We're in, go, go!" The officer at the front of the cargo area yelled into the intercom. Fara felt the shuttle lift off quickly and start to turn, she looked at one of the officers who promptly pushed her head down on the floor, all she could see now was the light shining through the porthole windows of the shuttle's cargo area. It moved slowly across the floor as the shuttle passed through the station's large main corridors

"Where are you taking me?" Fara yelled. "What's going on?"

"Stay quiet." One of the officers said. "We're going to get some questions answered. If you cooperate, we'll take you back to that shuttle you stole from us."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Fara snapped back. "What questions?"

"You'll find out." The officer paused a moment. "Why are we still in the station? Get us out of here, now!"

"I'm trying to avoid station security, they've got this whole deck locked down. They went red as soon as we took off." A voice replied over the intercom. "I've got a lock, they're going to bring us down." As the pilot yelled the shuttle was rocked by an explosion. Fara felt the floor ripple from the impact and the shuttle began to tilt left to right violently. She grabbed one of the struts supporting the seat and braced herself against the wall with her legs as the shuttle tumbled to the ground and crashed, sliding on its side for a few meters before coming to rest. The cargo compartment was full of smoke and beams of light peaked in from the now shattered porthole windows. The two officers grabbed their weapons and struggled to get the damaged rear door open, when they did they were met with weapons fire and fell back into the compartment one landing on Fara. With her hands still cuffed, Fara couldn't climb out of the wreck and was partially pinned by the lifeless body of one of her captors. A shadow blocked the light from the open rear doors and a familiar voice echoed inside the compartment.

"You in there Fara?" It was Norman. "Are you alright?"

"I'm here." Fara said. "I can't get out, they have my hands cuffed and I'm trapped under one of the bodies."

"Hold on." Norman climbed in and pulled Fara from the wreck. As soon as she was on her feet a station security officer unlocked her handcuffs and went to check on the shuttle's pilot.

"Thank you." Fara said to Norman.

"I wasn't sure you were for real." Norman replied as he put his hand on Fara's shoulder. "So I followed you, good thing too. I know every station security officer, their name, work hours, everything, and those two were not part of station security. We knew those guys outside the docking bay on the upper level weren't legit, but we needed to see what they were up to before we made a move. Thankfully those shuttles are slow and easy to follow. Sorry you got caught up in that. Did they say anything to you?"

"They wanted to ask me some questions, they didn't say what kind. They also mentioned the shuttle I used to bring Jack here. They said it belonged to them."

"They were working for Interstellar Iridium." Norman said. "There must be more of them on the station than we thought. Admiral Miller's going to be pissed. I think the best thing you can do right now is get away from this station as quickly as you can."

"I agree." Fara said.

"Miyu will give you a ride back to your ship, I'm going to stay here and clean up." Miyu was waiting nearby with a small hovering cart used to transport groups of people around the station. Fara climbed on and Miyu took off down the corridor toward the docking bay.

"Wow, did you see that?" Miyu said enthusiastically. "Those guys came out of that shuttle and Norm just popped em' before they had a chance to blink. I never though the old guy could do something like that. You get to see that sort of thing often?"

"I didn't see much." Fara replied. "I'm seeing more close combat than I would like to. I'm a pilot." Miyu stopped the cart near the docking bay where Fara's shuttle was kept. Fara stepped off and began walking toward the door.

"Thank you again." She said as she stepped into the docking bay and boarded the shuttle. The trip back to the _Prospect_ was thankfully uneventful and Fara was grateful for the time to reflect, she was eager to get back to Fox and the others and tell them what happened. As she approached the _Prospect,_ drifting silently through space she could see Fox had the repairs well underway with structural braces covering the holes in the hull and most of the ship's exterior doors repaired, one of the doors opened as she approached and a tractor beam slowly pulled her ship inside.


	17. Chapter 17

**Part 17**

Fara stepped out of the shuttle and into the _Prospect's_ hangar bay, not much had changed inside the ship. Most of the interior lighting was off or flickering and a smoky haze still filled the air, the smell of burnt wiring tingled her nose. The ship was powered down and eerily silent, the constant hum of the ship's machinery that normally masked her footsteps was absent, each step she took sent an echo through the empty hangar. The trail of strobing lights on the floor meant to guide the ship's crew to the hangar seemed to push her away as she walked against their flow and toward the pressure door that led to the ship's interior.

The pressure door led to a hallway that had been sealed off after the explosion, as she walked in the dim light, Fara carefully stepped over fallen panels and debris that still cluttered the hallway. The ship's repair drones had wasted no time patching the holes and repairing the structural damage to the ship but the debris and cosmetic work took a lower priority. Further into the ship, Fara began to worry, she still had yet to see Falco, Katt, or Fox. Someone had to know she was on board, they opened the door to let her dock. About midway down the hall was dent in one of the panels, Fara didn't think much of it at first glance, the hallway was full of damaged panels. This panel was pushed inward where the others damaged panels were bulged outward, two meters down the hall from the dent were several smears along the wall and floor, Fara stopped and looked down. In the dim light it was hard to see what the smears were, Fara touched one of the marks with her finger, the substance flaked off the wall and stuck to her finger. She rubbed her fingers together, the dark red substance was dried and flaked off easily. Fara took another sample from the wall and brought it to her nose, the flakes had a strong copper-like smell, it was blood. This was where they found Jack, he had been tossed against the wall and landed right here, and he was in trouble.

Fara ran toward the end of the hall where she found the ladder she had used to get to the lower level of the ship after the explosion and climbed as fast as she could to the crew deck. Her search for the others became more frantic as she found the crew deck dark and completely deserted, there was only one place left to search. On the command deck, Fara found the officer's quarters empty and made her way to the bridge. As she stepped through the doorway she let out her breath, Fox and his robot ROB were inside. Fox was sitting in the captain's chair with his head tilted back, sound asleep. ROB was working at one of the consoles toward the front of the bridge and turned to greet her.

"Hello Fara Phoenix." He said, "I'm glad to see you made it back safely."

"Hello ROB." Fara replied. "Glad to see you and Fox here. Where are the others?"

"They left as soon as I came on board. Fox and I have been repairing this ship."

"Left?" Fara was stunned. "Why?"

"Because Falco has only one priority, himself." Fox said.

"I thought you were asleep." Fara turned and said to Fox.

"I was. I woke when I heard you talking to ROB. I'm glad you made it back Fara, where's Jack?"

"Someone took him from the infirmary on Io station." Fara said shaking her head. "I have no idea where he is now."

"So how do we find him?"

"I have a contact on Io station that's working on it, he said it might take a few days though."

"A contact?" Fox looked at Fara in disbelief.

"Admiral Miller, an officer I met while I was waiting for Jack to recover, gave some information after his disappearance." Fara held out her hand. "She also gave me this for getting Jack back to the station."

"Looks like some kind of medal." Fox said.

"It is a valor award." ROB interrupted. "Given to individuals for exceptional deeds in service to the HSF."

"How did you know that ROB?" Fox asked.

"I have linked my systems with the human ship to station network by way of this ship's main computer. I have been using it to obtain information on ways to more efficiently repair and operate this ship. By my estimation, I've reduced repair time by 13%."

"You have access to their network?"

"Much of the HSF network is restricted, most of what I can access is related to ships of this type, though I can browse the humans' database for general information. I have been looking over the history of the HSF while waiting for the drones to complete their assigned tasks. I find it interesting humans do not use independent thinking machines."

"What do you mean?" Fox asked.

"Any task performed by an automated drone is assigned and overseen by a human, self aware machines do not exist in HSF space and their development and construction is forbidden. Humans do not use the word robot and call any mobile automated machine a drone."

"Why would they do that?" Fara asked.

"In the past, self aware machines under human control have adopted an aggressive nature and turned violent, resulting in many unfortunate deaths. As a result, all forms of self aware artificial intelligence are forbidden, the nearest any of their technology gets to a true A.I. is the main computer on a starship. It is given the freedom to plot routes and manage the ship's internal systems without input from a human, but cannot activate weapons or tamper with life support without approval."

"You might want to keep a low profile ROB." Fox said with a chuckle. "I think..."

"Main structure integrity at 85%." ROB interrupted. "The ship is structurally sound enough to attempt FTL travel or a jump."

"Until we hear from Fara's contact, I think we should stay here and continue repairs." Fox told ROB.

"The ship will be fully repaired in 173 hours." ROB responded. "I have put all non essential systems offline in an effort to reduce repair time."

"I think I want to lie down." Fara told ROB and Fox, "Hopefully, we'll hear something on Jack soon."

"I might do the same, there's nothing I can do right now anyway. ROB can handle the ship until one of us wakes up." Fox said as he followed Fara off the bridge and out to the elevator. He stood silently next to Fara as the elevator stopped on the crew deck, as Fara began to step out Fox stopped her.

"Fara, when you were asking about Jack did you?..."

"Yes, I asked about her too Fox." Fara interrupted. "I also asked him to track down Miri."

"Why Miri?"

"Payback. The same reason I want to track down Krystal." Fara began to walk away from Fox, who stood outside the elevator shaking his head.

"I don't think Krystal had anything to do with what happened to Jack or the attack on the ship." He said to Fara. "We know Miri was working with Wolf."

"We'll find out." Fara stopped and turned to face Fox. "If I'm right, are you going to help me catch her?"

"I..." Fox hesitated for a moment, then spoke. "Yes. If I'm right, will you accept that there's more to Krystal than what you've heard?"

"Alright." Fara said with a smile. "Though I doubt I'll have to." Fara stepped into her room and promptly shut the door, leaving Fox standing alone in the dim lights of the hallway. He walked back into the elevator and went back to the bridge where ROB worked silently at one of the terminals, briefly turning his head away to look at Fox as he entered the room. Fox sat in the captain's chair, slid down in the seat, and closed his eyes.

When Fox awoke, the bridge was dark and deserted except for the amber glow of the control consoles. On the screen infront of him was a pale green gas planet with black swirling clouds briefly illuminated by flashes of lightning. A quick search of the ship's security system found ROB deep in the lower decks working at a console, Fox paged him.

"ROB, where are we?"

"We are currently in low orbit around a gas giant in the Alpha system. Designation: Alpha VII."

"Why did you move the ship?"

"The ship's computer suggested I refuel the reactor. I gave the command and the ship brought us here."

"There's nothing out here." Fox said. "Where are we going to get fuel?"

"The ship's reactor is fueled by hydrogen." ROB replied. "I am using a gravity beam to collect it from this planet's atmosphere. Normally, these reactors can go decades without refueling, however this reactor was allowed to cool down then restarted suddenly. It needs to be refueled or it will become unstable and shut down again."

"Oh." Fox said. "Carry on then." ROB continued to monitor the ship and make repairs, when the reactor was refueled he moved the ship into orbit around Alpha III so they would be nearby when Norman contacted Fara. Over the next few days, Fox had taken to wandering the halls of the empty ship impatiently waiting for any word on Krystal. He hadn't realized how lonely the ship had become with so few on board, ROB was occupied with tending to the ship or scouring the HSF network for some random bit of information. Fara wasn't speaking to him except for the indirect grunt or shrug whenever he tried to start a conversation, he couldn't tell if she was still angry at him or just preoccupied with her own thoughts. Fox looked out one of the ship's windows as Io station slowly drifted past. Despite the conflict going on in Lylat and the problems withing the human's own systems there were never less than two dozen cargo ships circling the massive station's docking bay. When the station had passed, Fox went back to the bridge. A flashing red light on one of the consoles grabbed his attention.

"There's a message for you on that console." ROB said as Fox pressed the button on the console and replayed the message.

"_Fortune's Prospect_, you are requested at Io station immediately. Docking bay 45 has been reserved for you. You will be given clearance to dock as soon as you approach the station. Due to the high volume of traffic at the station, we are only able to hold this docking bay for 48 hours, after which you will have to register for a docking permit."

"Good thing we're nearby." Fox turned to ROB. "Good call ROB. Get us to Io station as soon as you can, I'll tell Fara."

"I have already plotted a course. We should be there in two hours." ROB replied. Fox ran to the elevator and made his way to the hangar bay where Fara had been tending to the Interstellar Iridium shuttle. Fox found her sitting in the pilot's seat fast asleep, the weapon Jack had given her clenched tightly in one hand.

"Hey Fara." Fox spoke softly as he walked up behind her. "Fara, they called us. We're headed to the station now." Fox put his hand on her shoulder and gently rocked her. Fara snapped awake and jumped from the pilot's seat, facing Fox with her weapon drawn. She looked at Fox and slowly lowered the weapon, remaining silent.

"Fara, they called." Fox repeated. "We're going back to Io station."

"It's about time." Fara said as she rushed past Fox and toward the bridge. On the bridge, ROB was setting a course for Io station, Fara took a seat at one of the consoles as Fox entered the room behind her and sat down in the captain's chair. The return trip to Io station was brief and uneventful and, as the message had said, they were tractored into docking bay 45 where Norman and Miyu were waiting for them.

"You're traveling around in an Argus class?" Miyu said as Fara and Fox approached. "Those things were outdated when they were new."

"It beats walking." Fox replied.

"That's the _Prospect _isn't it?" Norman asked.

"Yes." Fara said.

"Outdated or not, that is one of the most resilient ships in the armada." Norman told Miyu. "I've seen that ship come back here for repairs that would have crippled any other vessel. The Argus were over engineered in a way that's never been repeated in starship design. The companies that operate the few surviving Argus class ships don't let go of them easily and being jump drive equipped makes it almost impossible for anyone but a member of the HSF to command one."

"Jack turned the ship over to me before he disappeared." Fox said. "To keep Sandra Dinan of Interstellar Iridium from taking command of the ship."

"I see." Norman replied.

"So where is Jack?" Fara interrupted. "Do you have anything to tell us or not?"

"Easy there." Norman told Fara. "I already told you Star Wolf turned in a bounty for someone named Kursed, which you identified as Krystal, one of the individuals you're looking for. When I pressed for details about that transaction I found the CDF removed the bounty on Kursed some time ago then reissued it recently and increased the payout almost ten fold. My guess is whoever got... "

"Wait a minute." Fox interrupted. "Fara, you knew where Krystal was the whole time we were drifting around out in space?"

"I didn't know for sure." Fara said. "Norman didn't have any details other than someone turned in her bounty."

"I can't believe you. We were wasting time out in the middle of nowhere while Krystal was in trouble and you didn't say a thing about it."

"Ahem." Norman interrupted. "Like I was saying, Star Wolf got paid for turning someone over to the CDF. The books say it was Kursed, but I'd wager they bought a captured human and are trying to cover it up."

"Why does the CDF want a human?" Fara asked.

"The Cornerians have been asking to study our biology for some time. They've been asking for cadavers and anatomical data for years, we've sent them a bit as a gesture of goodwill, along with some blood and tissue samples. We trace everything we give them and it all goes to the same place on MacBeth, very well fortified underground facility built among the ruins of factory. A few months ago, they started asking for a live specimen, a request that was denied. This upset the CDF, who threatened to break off diplomatic ties with us. Not too long after that the aid ships we were sending into Lylat started being attacked by random criminal groups operating in the system."

"They were trying to catch a human on the ships coming in from outside Lylat." Fox added.

"Exactly, that's why we're forced to use Cornerians and Cornerian ships to transport our care packages. That and the CDF doesn't want human ships in Lylat, they think it'll scare the locals seeing another group of unknown ships after so many wars."

"So you think Jack's on MacBeth?" Fara asked.

"It's as good a theory as any, MacBeth would be a good place to hide. There's a ton of traffic coming and going from that planet, it would be easy to lose a ship in the confusion." Norman said as he handed Fara a small package. "I'm sorry I don't have anything more solid to go on, but information from inside that facility is nonexistent. I do have a way for you to get in though."

"What is this?" Fara asked.

"The Cornerians that return to Lylat from HSF space are taken to a quarantine facility on MacBeth before they're either returned to their planet of origin or taken to that underground facility. I've got the two of you one way tickets to MacBeth as returning civilians, from there you're on your own. The freighter you're on will be leaving in a couple of days so you've got some time to work up a good cover. If you do manage to get inside, our contact there is Dr. Johnathan Waytus, he spent time on Io station studying human biology and was recently transferred to MacBeth before we lost contact with him."

"Thank you Norman, for everything." Fara said.

"My pleasure. One thing before you go, Jack's one of our own and there's a reward for his safe return. Just come see me and I'll make sure you get paid in full."

"We'll be back soon." Fox said as he and Fara began walking back toward the _Prospect_. Fara went to the ship's lounge and sat down at one of the tables, Fox sat down across from her and stared silently.

"What?" Fara finally broke the silence.

"You should have told me about Krystal."

"There wasn't anything to tell."

"You knew she was on MacBeth, Fara."

"Okay, so she's on MacBeth. One person on a planet that's in ruins, with thousands of kilometers of tunnels and underground caverns, and has more ships coming and going than the rest of the planets in Lylat combined. I'm sure you'd be able to drop down there, find her, and be back in no time. Use some sense Fox."

"I think I deserved to know you were looking for her."

"Maybe you did, that was poor judgment on my part, I'm sorry. We need to focus on getting into this place and getting Jack and possibly Krystal, back out without causing an incident."

"If Krystal is there, we're taking her with us when we leave. I won't lose her again."

"Fine, we'll see when we get inside. If we knew why some of the returning Cornerians were being separated we could make sure we get singled out and taken away."

"They're studying humans there right? So what if we bring some human technology with us?"

"Like what? Weapons? They'd just take them away."

"Maybe they can't take the technology away from these people. Miri, Jack's friend or companion or whatever she was had an artificial eye that was human technology. It wasn't permanently attached but I'm sure there are Cornerians out there with human made artificial limbs"

"I think I have an idea Fox. My headset was part of a pilot training experiment the CDF was working on, maybe we can pass it off as a piece of permanently attached human technology."

"That gets you inside, what about me?" Fara though a moment then answered Fox.

"Do you think they'd separate a married couple?"

"I don't know. That doesn't sound like a good idea."

"We could try that or we could go back to Io station and have the humans replace a limb." Fara said with a smile.

"Let's go find a couple of rings."


	18. Chapter 18

**Part 18**

Fox and Fara took the next few days to rest and work on their cover as a married couple returning to Cornerian space, when they felt confident their act would work they returned to Io station and Norman began modifying Fara's headset to look as alien as possible. When he had finished, Fox and Fara went toward the docking bay and found the freighter returning to Lylat. They were greeted by a friendly Cornerian dressed in a CDF uniform, he began to look over the documentation Norman had given Fox and Fara.

"Welcome aboard Mr. and Mrs." He looked at his data pad again. "McCloud. I hope you enjoy your trip home, courtisy of the Cornerian government."

"Thank you." Fox said. "We enjoyed our time here."

"Is that right? This is my second time outside Lylat." The Cornerian looked at Fox. "I can't stand being here any longer than necessary. These things scare me."

"They take a bit of getting used to." Fara told the Cornerian, who shrugged his shoulders and waved them on board. Fox and Fara followed the directions of the crew and the lines painted on the floor to the freighter's cargo bay which was stacked full of containers with narrow stairways leading up to the doors on the containers above. Each container had a number on the door, Fox and Fara found theirs at the top of a stack toward the front of the cargo bay. A periodic announcement over the ship's intercom counted down the time to departure, at one hour thrity minutes all passengers were asked to be seated in their designated containers as the crew began sealing the doors. Fox and Fara rushed out of their container only to be met by several armed crew members who quickly ushered them back inside and locked the door behind them.

"What's going on?" Fara asked Fox.

"I don't know. I guess this is our private room for the trip."

The deep rumbling of the ship's engines echoed inside the lightless container, drowning out any attempt to speak below a yell. Once the ship had reached cruising speed the noise died down, leaving Fox and Fara's ears ringing as they stumbled around in the darkenss. A voice over the intercom announced the ship would be docking shortly.

"Docking?" Fara said to Fox. "That didn't take long."

"Great, I want out of here." Fox replied.

"We're caged in here like animals. I can't believe the Cornerian government would treat its people this way."

"While we were boarding the ship, did you get a look inside any of the other containers?"

"No, I didn't think to look."

"They had chairs, lights, and video screens." Fox told Fara. "We don't."

"So they singled us out already?"

"This type of freighter loads from the top so it can dock to the bottom of a station. We're at the top so we get off at the first stop."

Fox and Fara's conversation was interrupted by a metallic clang followed by the sound of groaning hydraulics, another clang shook the container. Fox braced himself in one corner while Fara did the same across from him while the container shifted wildly from side to side before stopping suddenly with an ear splitting boom. The abrupt stop knocked the pair to the floor, they didn't have time to regain their footing before the container doors were opened. Blinding white light burned their eyes as they were dragged blinded and with ears ringing out of the container. Fox was the first to his feet, he helped Fara up before being restrained and pulled away from her. Fox watched as a Cornerian approached Fara, he looked her over, checking her legs, feet, arms, and hands before turning his attention to her head the the device attached.

"Where'd you get that?" The stranger asked Fara, tapping on her headpiece.

"It's to help me with," Fara thought a moment. "My motion sickness and seizures." The stranger turned and spoke to one of his subordinates.

"It's too bulky to be theirs. If they're altering brain activity they put it at the back of the head under the skin. Whatever it is, its been in their hands, so Dr. Waytus is going to want to see it."

"What about these two?" The subordinate asked, pointing to the pair. "They were the only ones on this shipment and he doesn't have anything."

"I have this." Fox said while pulling something from his jacket. It was the interface device Fara used to communicate with the _Prospect's_ computer. The Cornerian's eyes widened as he studied the device in Fox's hand, tracing the lines etched into its surface with his finger, taking care not to touch it.

"That's interesting." He told Fox. "Where did you get it and what does it do?"

"It's a ship interface." Fara said. "It lets the ship's computer communicate directly into the mind of the user and the user communicate with the ship through thought."

"And it's yours?" The Cornerian said to Fox. "You were in command of a human ship?"

"Yeah." Fox told him. "Some kind of small carrier."

"Get them to the surface." The Cornerian told his subordinates. "Let them know we've got two worth talking to." Before they could react, Fox and Fara were rushed into a nearby transport and flown to MacBeth's battered surface. Still bearing the scars of the first war, many of the structures on the surface were heavily damaged and crumbling, Fox had forgotten Titania was under Venom's control during the war and its factories were used to build the ships and fighters that ravaged the Lylat system. The Cornerians had been slowly working to restore the planet's production lines to working order but lack of resources sidelined many of their projects. As the transport neared its destination, Fox could see through the dusty air the outlines of several structures backlit by lights on the horizon. The transport set down inside a small hangar that was connnected to the ruins of a larger structure, the brightly lit landing area was bathed in darkness as soon as the transport landed. Fox and Fara were ushered off the ship and brought to a stairwell leading to the lower levels of the ruins. They were led to a room several floors down with a sliding door along one wall and several sets of chairs scattered across the floor and left alone. After a few minutes, Fox started to walk back toward the doorway they had entered through, as he did the door quickly shut and locked. There was a hiss of air and a bright light coming from the sliding door that was opening slowly, half a dozen Cornerians dressed in lab coats stepped out followed by an older figure dressed the same way that looked frighteningly like Andross, he spoke.

"Welcome Mr. and Mrs. McCloud. I'm Dr. Waytus and I'm very interested to see what you've brought me."

"Where are we?" Fara asked.

"You're on MacBeth, have you forgotten the planets in Lylat during your time with the humans?" Dr. Waytus responded with a smile. He walked over to Fara followed by several of the Cornerians. He grabbed Fara's head and twisted it to one side while the others held her arms. Fox tried to rush to her side but was quickly restrained by the remaining assistants.

"Relax, I'm just getting a better look at your gift." He studied Fara's head for a moment. "This is Cornerian tech, at least it was before the humans got ahold of it. Tell me, what does it do?"

"It's to help with motion sickness and seizures." Fara told the Doctor.

"I don't believe that." Dr. Waytus said. "This looks like what's left of a head mounted targeting system the CDF was experimenting with that the humans have added a few basic transmitter and receiver modules to. I'm not sure it does anything other than fool those who don't know any better."

"It's permanently attached." Fox interrupted. "It's anchored to her head."

"Of course it is." Dr. Waytus told Fox. "If you're trying to get the device to be as accurate as possible you don't mount it on a helmet where it can shift independent of the pilot's head. I worked on this project before I came here, I know every pilot that was part of that program. Most had their headpieces removed when it was cancelled, only a few didn't make it back to us before we moved on to something else."

"I wasn't ever given the option." Fara yelled at the Doctor. "They told me it couldn't be removed."

"It can't be removed because I stopped removing them." Dr. Waytus said smugly. "My time is far too valuable to waste on trivial matters and failed experiments." He walked over to Fox, who could barely contain his anger, and began looking over his head aswell.

"Now, what have you brought me?" Dr. Waytus said. One of the assistants handed him the device Fox had brought with him. The Doctor smiled as he examined the device in his hand, letting his fingers glide over the surface.

"You have something very unique my friend. You can't imagine what this will do to forward our research. Where did you get this?"

"It was given to me." Fox answered through clenched teeth. "I was commanding a ship before I came back to Lylat."

"Is that right?" The Doctor turned and faced Fox. "Everything I know about the humans tells me you're lying. They guard their technology very closely and they don't hand over command of a ship to a member of a foreign species. I'd love to know the circumstances of this exchange of command."

"There was an accident on the ship and I was next in line to command." Fox told the Doctor. "There weren't any humans left to run the ship."

"I suppose it could happen." Dr. Waytus began walking back toward the sliding door. "The human ships are dangerous places, many of our fellow Cornerians have been injured trying to serve these creatures. This place was built to help them adjust to living with their own kind again and help us learn a bit more about our new space faring neighbors."

"You built this place in the sub basement of a ruined factory?" Fara asked. "Why waste the resources when they could be used to rebuild Corneria?"

"As a former member of Andross' army, I can't say I have any sympathy for Corneria. I can say I have a great interest in human technology and the humans themselves and Corneria was willing to overlook my past in exchange for any information I can give them on the humans' activities. This facility was already here and was used to research new technology for Andross. Now it's used to research new weapons to fight the impending threat." Dr. Waytus paused a moment then turned to his assistants. "Gentlemen, if you could escort our new guests inside. I want to see what else they can tell us."

"I can tell you the humans aren't a threat." Fox said. "If anything, rogues like you are a threat to the humans and to Corneria."

"You're mistaken." Waytus stopped and faced Fox. "These creatures are a great threat to the stability of Lylat."

"No, Andross was a threat. The humans are trying to coexist with us." Fox replied.

"You'd be one to think that wouldn't you? You're the one who stopped him."

"I did what Corneria paid me to do."

"Of course you did. So who pays you now? More importantly, what are they paying you to do?" Waytus turned toward Fara and grabbed her headpiece. "This sloppy attempt to get inside my installation tells me the humans are trying to disrupt what we're doing here. As long as the humans honor their agreement with Corneria and keep their ships out of Lylat, there is nothing they can do."

"What are you doing here?" Fara asked as Waytus released his grip.

"Gaining the advantage." The Doctor replied with a smile. Fox and Fara were led inside and down a corridor with several pairs of armed robots standing on either side. Just past the robots was a heavily reinforced door beside a long window, Fox looked inside the room. The room appeared to be some kind of prison cell with a sectioned off area for a toilet and wash basin and several benches attached to small circular tables. A few rows of beds mounted on the far wall gave the occupants somewhere to rest but there was little else in the room. The rooms occupants, several Cornerians, were all missing limbs, hands, or ears. One Cornerian, standing in the back of the room with arms folded, caught Fox's attention, it was Miri. Her long black hair was a tangled mess that partially covered her face, hiding the scar and her missing eye. She stared blankly into the room, seemingly unaware of Fox looking at her.

"What did you do to these people?" Fox yelled.

"Nothing, the humans did this to them, and they have given us the best look at human technology we've been able to get." Waytus told Fox. "Each one has lost a piece of their body and had it replaced with a human made mechanical prosthetic. We've separated these individuals from those returning to Lylat and removed their gifts for study."

"So why keep them here if you've already got what you wanted from them?" Fara asked.

"We can't remove the most important part. Not yet." Waytus told Fara. "As soon as the Cornerian government gives us permission, we're going to remove the interface portion of the prosthetic. Unlike the prosthetic itself, which is a simple robotic assembly, the interface is custom made for each individual and allows them the same control and feeling as if their limb was still attached. The mystery is how the humans manage to merge flesh and machine, the device you brought with you will help us better understand how this technology works."

"Some of these people aren't missing limbs." Fox said.

"Yes, some of our guests have internal devices and in all cases, that is the only thing keeping them alive."

"So removing the human tech will kill them." Fara said.

"Correct, removing the human technology from these people may cause them harm." Waytus said with a smile. "I'll have to leave you now, the CDF wants a progress report and I musn't be late delivering it. My assistant, Dr. Tydic will take over from here. When I return, you and I will have an extended conversation about why you're here. Please don't attempt to leave before I return, the exterior door is locked from the outside and the guards will attach as soon as the alarm is triggered.."

The Doctor began walking further into the installation, leaving Fox and Fara standing alone in outside the window. Fox looked in again at Miri, who had not moved.

"Who are you looking at Fox?" Fara asked.

"The one in the back there, with the dark hair." Fox told her, putting his finger against the glass. "That's Miri, she's the one who left with Krystal before you came on board. When Star Wolf attacked us, she was firing the laser on their carrier and she was Jack's friend."

"Do you think she recognizes you?"

"She can't see you, none of them can." A voice interrupted Fox and Fara's conversation. A grey haired wolf Cornerian approached them flanked on either side by two large armed robots. "The glass is mirrored on the other side, we can see in, they cannot see out. I'm Dr. Tydic. Who may I ask, are you?"

"I'm Fara Phoenix."

"I'm Fox McCloud."

"Funny, my information here says you're a married couple." Dr. Tydic looked at the datapad in his hand.

"Newlyweds." Fara said nervously. "I'm still getting used to it."

"I see." Tydic replied. "Dr. Waytus has told me you're spies for the humans and I'm to show you the rest of the facility before we interrogate you. The Doctor hopes after seeing what we're trying to do here you'll be more cooperative, making the interrogation easier for us and less traumatic for you. This way please." Dr. Tydic led Fox and Fara to another room just off the main corridor. Inside were several display cases and large pieces of wreckage, each with its own information terminal.

"In here we keep all of the human weapons and ship technology we've salvaged from their territory." Dr. Tydic began. "We're not even close to understanding their ship technology but we have made some progress with their weapons."

"You're building human weapons down here?" Fox asked.

"Why no." Tydic replied. "The humans use mass accelerators in their weapons and while this technology isn't as efficient as a plasma weapon or laser, its power is devastating. We can't even duplicate the alloys used to make the barrels let alone the power cells that allow these weapons to function. The best we can hope for here is a more effective defense against them."

"You think they are going to attack us?" Fara asked.

"Eventually, they will tire of the Cornerian government's constant posturing and take some kind of action."

"That doesn't mean they'll invade Lylat."

"Have you seen a human warship up close?" Tydic asked Fara.

"No." Fara said.

"They're massive machines, some the size of a city, bristling with weapons that could punch through the shield and hull of our finest ships in a single salvo. There are dozens of them in the systems surrounding Lylat right now, just waiting for the order."

"We never saw anything like that." Fox said.

"Of course you didn't, you weren't looking for it. You had to have seen the guns on every ship in their armada."

"I haven't seen a human ship that wasn't armed with some kind of weaponry." Fara told Dr. Tydic.

"Ask yourself, Why? Who do they fight that they need guns on every ship?" Tydic put his hand on Fara's shoulder. "They won't tell you."

"I've been in some of the systems around Lylat where the humans are operating." Fox said. "They are full of pirates, smugglers, and rogue agents from Lylat's wars. I can see why every ship needs to be armed, the area they operate in is very dangerous, our own ships can't get through Lylat without being hijacked. The humans have a right to defend themselves."

"Of course they do." Dr. Tydic said, nodding his head. "Nevermind they're upending the residents of those systems as they move in and help themselves to whatever it is they're after."

"It looks like they just settle a system and move on." Fara said. "I don't think they're after any one thing."

"I know something they are after, this way." Dr. Tydic led Fox and Fara out of the weapon storage room and down the corridor to a large room with several computer consoles scattered throughout and a few large pieces of machinery. The robots that were escorting the group stopped at the entrance, at one corner of the room was a barred holding cell roughly two meters square, inside was Jack. Jack was laying on his back with one knee up and his leg crossed over, foot dangling in the air, he looked at the group out of the corner of his eye as they passed by and walked to the opposite corner of the room. Dr. Tydic began playing a recording of the interactions between Jack and the facility staff.

"Can you tell us how this weapon works." One of the researchers asked Jack and held out a human pistol.

"Give it here and I'd be happy to show you how it works." Jack said with his hand outstretched.

"That's not the answer I wanted." The researcher said. "You know our deal, you answer a question you get a meal. Let's try again. What can you tell me about your ship technology."

"It's better than yours." Jack replied.

"Oh come now, there has to be something you're willing to tell us.

"There is."

"Well, out with it."

"Of all the places I've been incarcerated, this is the cleanest by far, I'd recommend it to all my friends." Jack said with a smile. The researcher sighed and walked off camera. The recording continued to play, with the voice of another researcher citing the physical similarities and differences between Cornerians and humans while Jack added colorful commentary to his observations.

"He's really being..." Fara began.

"A jerk." Fox said with a chuckle. "Krystal warned me about that." .

"I was going to say difficult." Fara said.

"The cameras can't see us here, they're focused on watching him." Dr. Tydic interrupted. "Speak softly though, we can still be heard. I don't like or trust the humans, but they haven't given us a reason to fear them yet. We need to research as much of their technology as we can, but Waytus has gone too far with this. I have no doubt the fleet massing outside Lylat is waiting for you to return with this human, I can't imagine what will happen if you don't."

"We had no idea there was a fleet." Fara said. "We didn't know if Jack would be here."

"We're looking for someone else as well." Fox told Dr. Tydic. "A blue Cerinian, is she here?"

"No, I know who you're talking about though. We traded her for the human."

"You what?" Fox yelled.

"Quiet down. I am trying to help you but if you compromise my position here I'll have to call in the robots. We traded her for the human, he was supposed to be near death. As it turned out he was just sedated and when it wore off we had a terrible time getting him under control."

"Where is Krystal?" Fox demanded.

"I don't know where they took her. They wanted to study a Cornerian and we wanted to study a human. She was the closest thing to a Cornerian we had that wasn't staff and didn't have some kind of human installed modification."

"But Star Wolf brought both of them here didn't they?" Fara asked.

"I don't know how you knew that, but yes. Wolf O'Donnell brought your friend here along with another, then traded your friend for the human. The other one that was brought in might know more, you can ask her after we put you in the holding cell."

"I'm not going in any holding cell." Fox told Tydic.

"I'll drop my card inside the doorway, it will open the holding cell door without setting off the alarms. That card will also get you into the weapons research room, several of the weapons in there are still functional. After that you can open the human's cage and get out of here but once you do, the alarms will sound and the robots stationed along the entryway will attack. You'll have to fight your way to the surface. It's the only option you've got at this point, Dr. Waytus is upstairs right now setting up your transfer to another facility, you'll be on the outside of the ship for that trip."

"So how are we going to do this?" Fara asked.

"We'll walk outside the room and the robots will grab the both of you. Put up a fight all the way to the holding cell and I'll make sure to drop the key just inside the doorway. You have to be the one to pick it up, if one of the other prisoners gets to it, they will try to escape and ruin everything."

"What do we do about the prisoners?" Fox asked.

"The safest place for them is inside that cell until all the robots are down." Dr. Tydic said. "They'll get suspicious if we wait too long. We need to go now. Start walking out of the room or I will have to call the robots."

Fox and Fara began to walk out of the room with Dr. Tydic just behind them. As soon as they crossed the doorway the two robots standing on either side grabbed them and began to drag them down the corridor. Fox and Fara struggled, yelled, and pounded on the robots as they neared the doorway. Dr. Tydic opened the door and stepped inside the holding cell, followed by the robots dragging Fox and Fara.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have a couple of new residents I'd like to introduce." Dr. Tydic delivered his lines with an unnerving ease. "Fox McCloud and Fara McCloud will be joining you, do make them feel at home." Dr. Tydic walked past the robots as they dropped Fox and Fara in the center of the room. He stood to one side of the door while the robots walked out, Fara rushed the door while Dr. Tydic turned to walk out of the cell. As he stepped outside something bounced off his shoe and onto the floor, Fara scooped it up as the door closed infront of her. Fox struggled to get to his feet as the other prisoners helped him up.

"I never thought I'd see you again." A familiar voice caught Fox's ear. He turned and looked at Miri who had helped him to his feet.

"You tried to kill us." Fox replied, the other prisoners backed away as Fara walked up behind Fox and confronted Miri.

"I made a terrible mistake." Miri said. "There is no way I could explain my actions in a way you'd understand. I don't even understand what I did."

"Where's Krystal?" Fox asked.

"We left the _Prospect_ and immediately returned to Lylat, I wanted to go back to Rodney, my husband. Krystal took me to see him but when we got there he had remarried. I took too long getting back to him and moved on, I was so upset."

"I don't care about your personal life. Where is Krystal?" Fox demanded, his fists were clenched and he began to slowly walk toward Miri.

"I'll get to that, you need to know this first." Miri pleaded with Fox, who stopped and waited. "Since neither of us had any place to go we decided to try and find work, Krystal visited a local bounty office she had used some time before. I stayed with the ship, that's when Wolf approached me. He told me how Krystal had betrayed him and his group, he said she would do the same to me the first chance she got, that's when I found out about this place. Wolf told me we could both profit if we turned Krystal in and I, thinking she would do the same to me, went along with it."

"I'm still waiting to hear where they took Krystal. Stop stalling and tell me where she is." Fox shifted his weight from one foot to the other as Miri started again.

"Wolf used the information in the computer on Krystal's ship to get out to the _Prospect_ then dumped the both of us here after he didn't have a use for us anymore. A few days later he came back and took Krystal, at the same time they brought in a stretcher with a covered body."

"What about the part where you shot at the _Prospect_?" Fara asked.

"Wolf said if I didn't participate he'd have no use for me, I tried so hard not to hit the ship."

"You could have fooled me." Fara said. "You sounded like you were enjoying it."

"I was still upset about Rodney and I blamed Jack for it."

"So you shoot at us with a capital class laser cannon." Fox said in disbelief.

"When you put it like that, it does sound irrational."

"I'd like to smack you." Fara said.

"Back to Krystal." Fox demanded.

"When Wolf came back to get Krystal she asked where he was taking her. He said one word, Thorin.

"That's it?" Fox shook his head. "Where or what is Thorin?"

"I don't know, I'm sorry." Miri put her hand on Fox's shoulder. "It doesn't matter now, we're all locked in here."

"No, we're not." Fara said and presented Dr. Tydic's key.


	19. Chapter 19

**Part 19**

Fara held Dr. Tydic's key where the other prisoners could see. They gradually moved from the back of the room toward her, not saying a word, eyes focused on her hand. Fox broke the silence in the room.

"We've got a plan to get everyone out of here." He told the prisoners. "We need you to stay here just a little while longer."

"I don't think so" One of the prisoners said. "I've had enough of this place."

"Open that door." Another prisoner demanded.

"How far do you plan on getting?" Fara asked. "The outside this door are no less than an dozen armed robots. Last time I checked, none of you have weapons."

"You're planning on going out there." Miri said, still standing beside Fox. "What's to stop them from shooting you?"

"If one or two of us go out, we can get to the weapons room next door before they know we're out and alert the robots, the safest place for you is in here until we destroy the robots. This key will let us open the cases in that room and we can use the weapons inside to fight off the robots."

"If the door is open or one of you is outside, you could be killed." Fox told the group of prisoners. "If you stay here and let us clear out the robots, we can all escape."

"I don't like it." One of the prisoners said. "How do we know you won't leave us behind?"

"See this." Fara said, pointing to her headpiece. "It's just a mock up made to look like human technology so they would bring us here. The HSF knows you're here and sent us to get you out."

"There's a human here too." Fox said. "He can help us get out."

"A human?" Miri said, looking up at Fox. "It's Jack isn't it? That's why you're here."

"We're here to get everyone out." Fox said. "That includes Jack."

"I'm going with you." Miri said.

"No, you're going to stay here." Fara said, stepping in front of Miri. "It's better if everyone just waits here until we clear out the robots."

Miri stopped and looked at Fara who was now standing between her and Fox, she hesitated for a moment before taking a seat in a nearby chair. Fara handed the key card to Fox, who opened the door and stepped out into the corridor, after a few moments Fox signaled Fara to follow. As Fara stepped through the doorway she turned, started to close the door, and began walking toward Fox who was opening the door to the weapons room. There was a loud crash behind her followed by the groaning of hydraulics. Fara turned around to see Miri climbing over a chair she had jammed in the door as the flashing lights and shrill alarms of the facility's security system began to sound, she stumbled into the corridor and began running toward Fara. The robots in the corridor had moved from their positions along the wall and were moving toward the pair. Fara grabbed Miri and pulled her into the weapons room. Fox quickly closed the door as the robots began to fire their lasers.

"I told you to stay in that room!" Fara yelled at Miri. "Now look what you've done!"

"You don't tell me what to do!" Miri snapped back. "I said I was coming with you."

"We can't trust you." Fox added. "The last thing we need is you shooting us in the back while we're trying to get out of here."

"Well, I'm here now." Miri said defiantly. "So give me a weapon and I can help you rescue Jack and get out of here."

"How about I open the door and just push you out there?" Fara said. "You're going to get us all killed."

While Miri and Fara argued, Fox worked to open the weapon cases. Many of the weapons inside had been disassembled or were broken except for several small pistols in a case at the back of the room. Each pistol was carefully packed in a custom made case and there were several computers with detailed information on how the weapons operated. Fox took a moment do read up on the operation of the weapons before removing them from their cases and walking back toward Fara and Miri.

"What were you doing Fox?" Fara asked.

"I was reading about how these things worked. I found six that weren't disassembled or broken." Fox told Fara and handed her two of the weapons before turning to Miri who was waiting with an outstretched hand, he hesitated a moment before handing Miri a weapon.

"Fox!" Fara yelled. "You just said she can't be trusted."

"I want out of here as badly as you do." Miri told Fara. "I want to help Jack too, after we leave here you can have this back and I'll go my own way. Please let me help you, I know you don't have any reason to trust me. All I can give you is my word, I don't have anything else."

"Whatever we do, we need to move quickly." Fox said. "Those robots aren't going away."

"They'll be more of them now." Fara said, looking at Miri.

"I don't hear them." Miri said with her ear pressed to the door. "The alarm is off too." Fox and Fara took cover behind one of the display cases in the room while Miri walked slowly out into the corridor, she looked both ways then signaled for the others to follow. Fox and Fara walked slowly to Miri who was waiting just outside the door, the robots that stood along the walls were nowhere to be seen.

"Where'd they go?" Fox asked.

"I don't know." Fara replied. "There aren't many places for them to go. If I had to guess, I'd say they were blocking the entrances so we can't escape."

"Makes sense to me." Fox said.

"Let's go." Fara said as she walked toward the room where Jack was being held. As the trio walked into the room the alarms sounded again. Fox ran over to Jack's cell while Fara and Miri stood watch at the doorway. Jack was lying on a cot in one corner of the cell with his back to the door, he slowly rolled over as Fox opened the cell door and tried to get his attention over the alarms.

"Jack." Fox yelled. "We're here to get you out."

"I'm glad to see you Fox, I thought they had captured you too." Jack said. "I saw you walk in with that bastard Tydic."

"He helped us get you out and gave us the key to your cell and these weapons."

"He's still a bastard." Jack replied. "Thanks for the gun. What's next?"

"Fara and Miri are standing watch at the door waiting for us. We're going to fight our way to the surface and see if we can find a ship." Fox said. "Are you well enough to fight?"

"I'll do what I can but I'm not 100%." Jack told Fox. "They haven't been feeding me, I'm weak and my hands are shaking."

"I'll let the others know." Fox said to Jack. "We'll lead the way out."

"Thanks for coming to get me, Fox. Between you and me, I was worried I'd never get out of here. It's terrifying not knowing where I am or if anyone is coming to help, thank you. I don't know how much longer I'd have lasted."

"We still need to get out of here." Fox told Jack. Suddenly, the sound of weapons fire from the doorway interrupted their conversation, Fara could be heard yelling for help as a smoky haze began to fill the air. Fox ran to the doorway with Jack stumbling along behind him, Fara had taken cover behind one of the large pieces of machinery in the room with Miri nowhere to be found. Fox and Jack fired at the first robot to come through the doorway, it stopped and collapsed into a smoking heap just inside the room. The robots behind it struggled to step over the wreckage now blocking the doorway making them easy targets for Fox, Fara, and Jack. When the last of the robots had fallen, the alarms stopped, Fox and the others began to clear the doorway.

"Using a choke point seems the way to go with these things." Jack commented.

"Yeah, that was almost too easy." Fox said looking around the room. "What happened to Miri?"

"I don't know." Fara replied.

"Miri's here?" Jack asked.

"She was right here with me before the robots attacked." Fara told Jack. "Is she a friend of yours?"

"I helped her out." Jack said, then lowered his head. "She decided to take a different path recently."

"Oh." Fara said, as she helped pull the last of the robots from the doorway. Fox poked his head out and looked down the hall, it was difficult to see in through the smoky haze that filled the air and the scent of burnt electronics and charred wiring burned his nose. Jack walked up behind him and spoke.

"Where are we Fox?"

"We're in some kind of underground research facility built by Andross during the first Lylat War." Fox replied. "It's on the planet MacBeth hidden in the ruins of destroyed factory."

"So I'm in Lylat?"

"Yes." Fox replied. "They're taking Cornerians that come back from human space here."

"Why?"

"They're taking their artificial limbs trying to learn more about your technology. They've got some of your weapons here too, that's where these came from." Fox said holding his pistol up. "They wanted a human too, that's how you ended up here. Wolf smuggled you out of Io station and brought you here and we were asked to find you and bring you back."

"So what's you plan for getting out of here?"

"We're going to use Dr. Tydic's key to get to the surface and see if we can find some way off this planet." Before Jack could respond, Fara began yelling from further down the hall. Fox and Jack ran through the smoke toward the sound of Fara's voice and found her crouched down on the floor next to Miri's motionless body. Miri was lying on her stomach on the floor of the hall, one arm under her body, the other stretched out above her head. The weapon Fox had given her was resting on the floor, less than a meter from her outstretched hand, her back was covered with circular burn marks.

"She's gone." Fara said. "She wasn't moving when I found her."

"Shot in the back while trying to get away." Jack said. "Poor thing, you didn't deserve this." Jack set his weapon down and picked up Miri's body. Still weak from being underfed, he struggled to put the body over his shoulder before picking up his weapon and returning to his feet.

"Jack, she did try to..." Fara cupped her hand over Fox's mouth.

"Let's free the others and get out of here. Leave the past where it belongs." Fara said in a hushed voice. Fox and Fara rushed back to the holding cell with Jack slowly walking up behind them, Fox opened the door and motioned for the prisoners to follow him. The prisoners slowly made their way into the hall, some in wheelchairs, others hobbled on crutches, those that could walk on their own helped the others as best they could, pausing a moment to look at Jack standing beside the door with Miri over his shoulder. He greeted each of them with a silent nod, turning away briefly to wipe his eyes with his free hand. Once the prisoners were out of the holding cell, Fox led the group past the room where Jack was kept and to another locked door, he swiped Dr. Tydic's card and stepped inside.

"That's far enough." Dr. Waytus barked as Fox and Fara stepped inside. Waytus was holding Dr. Tydic with one arm around his neck and a blaster pistol to his head, peaking out from behind his captive briefly to watch Fox and Fara.

"I seem to have found a security breech." Dr. Waytus said. "But am educated and reasonable, you two will be allowed to leave provided the human and the others remain behind. Besides, there's only one ship beyond the door behind me and I'm afraid it has too few seats, my support staff took the other when the alarms sounded. I have another detachment of security robots on the way, so make your decision quickly."

"Jack goes with us." Fox said as a rumbling noise filled the doorway behind Waytus.

"Just the two of you." Waytus replied. "That is my offer."

Dr. Waytus's head snapped back as two shots echoed from the doorway behind Fox and Fara. He fell to the floor, dropping his weapon and dragging Dr. Tydic to the ground with him, Dr. Tydic freed himself from Dr. Waytus's arm and staggered to his feet. Jack lowered his weapon, propped Miri's body up against the wall, and stepped through the doorway, closing it behind him.

"What are you doing." Dr. Tydic yelled. "The security robots will be coming through that door any minute and you've closed our way out." Jack pointed to Dr. Waytus's weapon lying on the floor beside his body, still charged and ready to fire. Dr. Tydic grabbed the weapon from the floor and took cover behind his deceased employer's desk. Fox, Fara, and Jack followed as the door on the far side of the room opened and the security robots stepped through and began to fire. Fox and Fara returned fire from the sides of the desk while Jack and Dr. Tydic fired over the top, the robots were felled easily by the human weapons as they continued to pour through the doorway, tripping over the wreckage of their disabled counterparts. When the robots stopped coming Jack stepped out from behind the desk, climbed over the pile of defunct robots, and disappeared through the doorway, reappearing a few minutes later. Fox went back and opened the door to allow the prisoners inside the office, each one slowly walked into the room and looked around. Fara checked each one for injuries while Fox walked into hall to check for any left behind, all that remained was Miri's body still propped upright against the wall.

"It's best to leave her." Dr. Tydic said as he walked up behind Fox. "There's nothing you can do for her now."

"We don't leave anyone behind." Jack said, walking up behind them both. "She has family that will want to say goodbye."

"Now what?" Dr. Tydic demanded. "You heard Waytus, there's only one ship and too many of us."

"There's a second transport docked in the hangar." Jack told him. "The one that brought the robots down."

"That's just a relay ship." Tydic said. "It's intended to go from orbital station to planet surface and back again. That ship isn't equipped for deep space flight, it's useless."

"Then we'll go to the station and find something better." Fox said.

"We've got some time." Jack interrupted. "I want to know if there's anything else going on in Lylat we need to know about."

"I won't be a part of this." Dr. Tydic said. "I've done all I'm going to do."

"So there is more."

"Nothing I'm involved with I assure you." Tydic said as he backed toward a console along the wall. Jack lunged forward and grabbed the Doctor before he could reach the wall. Dr. Tydic struggled to free himself as Jack pulled him to his feet and slammed him against Dr. Waytus's desk. Fox rushed over to the console and began looking through the files.

"Oh no." He said.

"What'd you find?" Jack asked.

"They're rebuilding _Saruzin_."

"What's _Saruzin_?"

"It was Venom's largest carrier." Fox said. "We destroyed it during the first Lylat war, it's been drifting as a broken up wreck ever since. Even worse, they've been hijacking the freighters carrying supplies to Corneria to get the materials."

"The Cornerians are hijacking their own ships?" Jack asked. "The ships we've been sending back with supplies?"

"Yeah, it looks that way." Fox replied. "They've been rebuilding _Saruzin_ with materials stolen from aid ships coming back from human space."

"Not just rebuilding, redesigning, and re purposing too." Dr. Tydic added.

"Re purposed for what?" Jack asked.

"I have no idea."

"You're quite proud of this project you have nothing to do with."

"It's for the defense of Lylat, why wouldn't I be proud of the ship that's going to put your kind in its place?"

"You really think one carrier is going to defend an entire solar system?"

"This one can." Dr. Tydic said with a smile.

"I'll get whatever I can from these computers." Fox told Jack. "You and Fara get everyone on board the transports."

"Will do." Jack replied, grabbing Dr. Tydic by the arm. "You first, doctor."

"I will not." Tydic stiffened his body and attempted to wrestle his arm free from Jack's grip. Jack twisted Tydic's arm behind his back and pressed upward, guiding him toward the doorway to the hangar.

"That wasn't a request, doctor." Jack said as they walked toward the doorway. "You're lucky I need you or you'd be on the floor with your superior."

"You can't make me talk."

"We don't have to." Jack said with a smile. "You see, unlike you, we don't need to torture and starve our captives to get information. We have machines that can extract the thoughts from your head."

"You do?" Tydic replied with a quiver in his voice.

"We do, it's not a pleasant experience mind you, and it does have the tendency to render the subject brain dead. That's only about 40% of the time though, the rest end up with amnesia. Three out of five isn't bad odds, care to try your luck?"

"No. I don't want that."

"Then you tell my people everything they want to know and you'll be returned to Lylat unharmed." Jack ushered the Doctor into the hangar and returned a few minutes later for the others.

"Jack, was that true?" Fara asked.

"No, of course not." Jack replied. "But I'm not about to tell him that." Fara and Jack continued to help the remaining prisoners onto the transport, Miri's body was loaded last and covered with a cloth. Once everyone was on board and ready Fox, Fara, and Jack met in the hangar.

"We've got two ships here." Jack began. "The prisoners, Miri, and Dr. Tydic are in the transport, which looks to have some kind of turret mounted on the underside. The smaller ship, which is unarmed, looks like it it was meant to carry a pilot and small cargo. I can't fly a Cornerian ship, so I'll leave it up to you two to decide who pilots what, I'll stay with the transport."

"You think we'll have any trouble once we get out of here?" Fara asked.

"It's hard to say, they haven't come to check on us and they had to know there was trouble here when Waytus asked for the extra robots."

"This is a class 4 dropship." Fox said, pointing to the transport. "It's used for dropping soldiers into combat zones, the turret is for suppressing ground targets while it lands. It won't be much help against airborne targets. The other ship is a common interplanetary shuttle, no weapons, but it's fast."

"Maybe we should try and pack the shuttle with prisoners." Jack told Fox. "They'd stand a better chance of getting away if there is trouble."

"I can pilot the shuttle and run interference." Fox said. "If we're attacked I can use the shuttle's shields to take some of the fire. It would..."

"I'll fly the shuttle." Fara interrupted. "You can make a run for the station with the others."

"No, I should fly the shuttle. I'm a better pilot." Fox told Fara. "Besides, you did a great job piloting that transport on Dust."

"That _was_ a shuttle Fox." Fara replied angrily.

"It looked like a transport to me." Fox said as he walked away from Fara and toward the shuttle. Fara sighed and walked toward the transport with Jack right behind.

"What's the communication range on these ships?" Jack asked.

"They should be able to reach anywhere in Lylat." Fara replied. "You're not going to call in help from outside the system with it though."

"Just checking." Jack said as they boarded the transport and prepped the ship for takeoff. Fara looked at Dr. Tydic, who was strapped tightly into the copilot's seat, he glared at her silently.

"What's he doing up here?" Fara asked.

"I put him up here so he couldn't make trouble once we're in the air. Besides, he's not very popular with the other passengers."

"Oh." Fara replied and continued prepping the ship for liftoff.

"You up for this? We might have to fight some of your people to get out of here." Jack asked. Fara stopped what she was doing and thought a moment before responding.

"I don't really have a choice." She said.

"None of us do." Jack told her.


	20. Chapter 20

**Part 20**

Fox took off and scouted the surrounding area for a few minutes before telling Fara it was safe. She slowly brought the ship to full power and hovered briefly over the ruined factory. The vibrations from the transport's thrusters shook the crumbling structures, knocking bits of concrete and steel loose and dropping them to onto the hangar floor below. Fara took a moment to check the transport's directional thrusters before pointing the lumbering ship skyward, even at full power the transport struggled to gain altitude.

"The ship's overloaded." Fara said. "It's going to be difficult to get out of the atmosphere like this."

"We'll make it." Jack said. "We've got the right pilot at the controls."

"Fara." Fox's voice sounded over the communicator. "There's three CDF fighters coming out of the station and heading toward the planet." Fara didn't respond to Fox, instead she throttled the transport forward and began gaining speed.

"Fara, what are you doing?" Fox asked.

"I can't climb, the ship's too heavy." She replied. "I'm going to try and follow the curve of the planet and use its gravity to help build some speed, then we can get out of the atmosphere."

"You're going to have to go all the way around the planet to get back to the station."

"It's either that or sit here and let them shoot us down. Fox, Just see if you can get them to follow you, maybe they haven't picked us up on their scanners."

"I'll see what I can do. Be careful Fara."

"You too Fox." As Fox went off to intercept the fighters, Fara continued to climb out of MacBeth's dusty atmosphere, slowly gaining altitude until they finally reached the vacuum of space. Free from the drag of the planet's atmosphere, the transport began to build speed and circle back toward the station where Fox was attempting to catch the attention of the small squadron of CDF fighters. As the transport approached, the fighters turned away from Fox and sped toward it.

"They're turning away." Fox yelled into the communicator. "Without weapons, I can't keep them on me." Fara tried to evade the incoming laser fire, rolling to the left and right, but the bulky transport was slow to react and unable to stay out of the CDF fighter's sights for more than a few seconds.

"Jack!" Fara yelled. "I could really use a gunner!" Jack stood in the doorway to the cockpit with one arm braced against the door frame and his free hand covering his mouth. He stepped back for a moment then reappeared wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"What's wrong with him?" Dr. Tydic asked.

"He gets sick easily. He can't handle the motions of the ship." Fara said. Dr. Tydic motioned Jack over before rummaging through the bag he had brought on board. He pulled out a small vial of translucent blue liquid, a small vial of red liquid and a small injector, he carefully combined the two vials and placed the mixture into the injector before unloading the device's contents into Jack's arm.

"That should ease your stomach." Tydic said. After a few moments, Jack uncovered his mouth and looked at the Doctor.

"Thank you Doctor, and here I thought you didn't like me." Jack said.

"I don't." Tydic replied. "But I don't want to die today and those fighters aren't going away on their own."

Jack sat down at the console behind the cockpit and took control of the transport's turret. He began firing whenever the fighters tried to come up from the underside of the ship, the pilots quickly adapted their attack pattern to stay out of the turret's range. Jack stood up and kicked the console in disgust before walking back into the cockpit.

"What are you doing?" Fara yelled. "Shoot them down!"

"I can't, they're coming in from above the ship and the turret only points down." Jack said, pointing at the transport's scanner. The CDF fighters were circling above the transport and diving in from above while firing their weapons.

"Get back on the turret, I've got an idea." Fara said. When Jack said he was ready, Fara cut the engines and let the ship drift for a moment then rolled the ship so the underside faced the incoming fighters.

"Fire away." Fara yelled to Jack who responded by opening fire on the Cornerian ships. After each pass the fighters would attempt to approach the ship a different direction and Fara would have to roll the transport around so Jack could fire at them.

"Good call Fara. I told you we had the right..." Jack was interrupted by a loud pop followed by the sound of metal pieces hitting the hull of the transport as the interior lights dimmed and flickered briefly before returning to normal. The console he was sitting at went dark before erupting into a shower of sparks and fire.

"What was that?" Fara said.

"The turret's broke." Jack replied as he walked up behind Fara.

"What do you mean the turret's broke?"

"I push the button and nothing happens. The turret's broke."

"Now what do we do? We don't have the shields to make it to the station."

"We're out of the atmosphere, I think I can get us out of here." Jack told Fara before reaching for her headpiece, he began removing the pieces Norman had installed.

"Jack!" Fara screamed. "Stop it!"

"Like I said, I'm getting us out of here." He replied as he sat back in the cockpit doorway and began to tinker with the pieces. "These parts attached to your headpiece are for an emergency transmitter."

"Why didn't you say that earlier?"

"We needed to get off the planet and out of the atmosphere first. I had to make sure we're in position to get a good signal." Jack told Fara. "It's only good for one use, after that it melts down. Tydic, could you scan the local communication channels? I'm looking for ones with static."

"I can try." Dr. Tydic replied. "Wouldn't it be better if she did it?" Fara was doing all she could to dodge the CDF fighters that were still firing away at the transport. Fox had arrived to try and draw their fire but they ignored him and continued to pound away at the transport's shields which were depleting rapidly.

"She's busy keeping us alive. Hurry, find a channel with static and turn up the volume, let me know if you hear a faint beeping sound. Keep scanning until you find a channel with a beeping sound embedded in the static. Fara, just try and buy us some more time, do whatever you have to."

"I'm trying." Fara said under labored breath. "I can't get away from them."

"You're doing fine." Jack told Fara. "We'll be out of here in a minute."

"I think I found it." Tydic said, handing Jack the copilot's headset. "It's very faint, but it's there."

Jack took the headset and listened to the tone, he nodded, put the transmitter up to the headset's microphone, and pressed the single button on the unit. The transmitter let out a tone that varied between a chirping and a loud buzzing sound before going silent and erupting in a cloud of smoke. After a few moments, a jump portal opened nearby and Fara made a run for it, shifting the transport so ship's armored underside faced the Cornerians and letting the ship's inertia carry it into the portal. The transport's shields were completely depleted and it had taken heavy damage from the CDF fighters, though Fara seemed unaware of the flashing lights on the ship's console. In the bottleneck of the portal, Fox was finally able to put himself between the transport and the Cornerian fighters and continued to block their laser blasts with his ship. As the transport exited the portal, several human fighters covered the transport and engaged the CDF. The Cornerians withdrew back through the portal almost immediately with a few of the human ships right behind them. The humans returned moments later with the portal closing behind them. The human ships began towing the damaged transport toward a nearby carrier with Fox following in the shuttle.

"What just happened?" Fara asked.

"You saved us." Jack said, patting Fara on the shoulder. "Good move keeping the transport's armor toward the Cornerians, that bought us the time we needed."

"Where's Fox? Is he alright?"

"He's fine. He's right behind us." Jack replied.

"How did they find us so quickly?" Dr. Tydic asked.

"We keep jump probes anchored in every system where we operate." Jack told him. "They're how we're able to open portals near planets, moons, or other anomalies in space. We can open a portal anywhere, but to get near an object in space requires some kind of anchoring point. The jump probes can communicate with any HSF ship within their signal range so in an emergency, like a hull rupture or life support failure, help can be brought in quickly. The device I used is an emergency transmitter that broadcasts a rescue signal to a nearby jump probe which then calls on the nearest ship to open a portal near us."

"And that ship is?"

"The carrier _Ardennes_." Jack replied. "She's currently the largest ship stationed in this region. You'll be getting a very close look at her, Doctor."

When the transport docked with the _Ardennes_ the crew escorted Fox, Fara, Jack, the prisoners, and Dr. Waytus to the ship's infirmary to be looked over. Each of the prisoners had a new limb installed before being released to the crew quarters, Dr. Waytus was confined to a holding cell in the ship's brig, Jack was being treated for dehydration and released for debriefing, he insisted Miri's body remain on the ship and be returned to Corneria as soon as possible. Fox and Fara were waiting together in one of the exam rooms, surveying their surroundings. The exam room was cramped with only enough room for a couple of chairs, an exam table, a small wash basin and row of cabinets. Fara finally broke the silence.

"Better pilot huh?"

"I couldn't keep their attention without weapons." Fox told her. "They were circling too fast to intercept and I had to dodge fire from that turret on your ship."

"Jack was on the turret, I don't think he was shooting at you on purpose."

"No, he wasn't shooting at me, I was trying to get in front of the fighters as he was trying to shoot them down. It wasn't until they knocked out the turret that I could get between them and you without being shot at from two directions."

"We're all safe, that's what matters."

"Yeah, it's a shame about Miri though." Fox said, shaking his head.

"Was she someone special?" Fara asked.

"I don't know, from what Krystal told me, she was at one time."

"He was pretty upset, you could see it when he picked her up. He tried to cover it up the whole time we were down there."

"It didn't stop him from killing Dr. Waytus, Krystal said he was a good shot."

"Krystal." Fara grumbled. Their conversation was cut short when Jack and a human doctor walked in. The human doctor was tall, thin, and casually dressed, the only indication she was a doctor was the stethoscope around her neck.

"We're fine thank you." Fox told the doctor. "Someone has already been in to check us out."

"That's not why I'm here." The human doctor said. "I'm Dr. Arista Harrington, chief medical officer on the _Ardennes_. I'm here to look at your friend's attachment."

"My headpiece?" Fara said as she looked at the Doctor before turning to Jack. "You're going to help me get this off?"

"Unless you don't want it off." Jack said. "It's your head."

"After what I heard on MacBeth, I want it off." Fara said, touching her headpiece.

"Dr. Harrington's going to take you down for some tests, they shouldn't take too long. In the meantime, Admiral Miller wanted to talk to Fox, we'll meet you back here after we're done."

"Admiral Miller is here?" Fara asked. "I met her while I was waiting for you to wake up."

"Yes, this is the flagship in this region." Jack told Fara. "If she's not here, she's on Io station. I'll tell her you said hello."

"Thanks Jack." Fara said as she followed Dr. Harrington out of the room. Jack led Fox out of the medical bay and toward the ship's bridge, several times Fox tried to ask Jack about Thorin and Krystal and each time Jack told him to wait until after their briefing with the Admiral. Fox and Jack reached a door guarded by two human soldiers who stood at attention as they approached, the door opened and both soldiers gestured for them to go inside. Inside the room, Admiral Miller sat at the end of a long table lined with well padded chairs on either side, Fox and Jack took the two chairs nearest the Admiral and sat down.

"Gentlemen." The Admiral greeted them with a smile. "I'm glad to see you made it back to us Orion."

"I had help." Jack replied looking at Fox.

"Indeed you did." The Admiral said. "Mr. or should I say Captain McCloud, well done getting those people out of that terrible place. I'll make sure you're well compensated for your efforts."

"Thank you, Admiral." Fox said. "Captain?"

"Yes." The Admiral replied. "You were made captain of the_ Prospect_ in Mr. Robert's absence, so the title stays with you until he's fit for duty again."

"Oh." Fox said.

"I don't plan on being down for very long." Jack said.

"Stay out of combat for a few days." The Admiral told Jack. "That's an order."

"Yes Admiral."

"To the matter at hand gentlemen." The Admiral began. "We've been looking over the information you brought back on the Cornerians new project. They paint a dire picture for our operations out here."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked.

"The Cornerians are building a ship from the wreckage of a very large carrier that was destroyed several years ago, they've rebuilt the ship into some kind of artillery platform that fires the standard Cornerian interplanetary ballistic missile into an accelerator gate similar to the one that orbits Corneria, but on a smaller scale."

"So they're trying to duplicate a capital ship size accelerator weapon?"

"Not exactly, in order for their gate to accelerate an object, that object must be moving as it enters. So they're using the missile's propulsion as a substitute for our accelerator technology. The missile is launched from the back of the ship, travels forward into the accelerator gate at the ship's bow, and is launched into a small jump portal held open at the end of the gate. The missile is accelerated to near light speed and can exit the portal nearly on top of its target."

"Where did the Cornerians get the jump portal technology?"

"We don't know for sure, but it seems our friends at Interstellar Iridium have been in contact with the Cornerians for some time, even hiring local mercenaries to hijack the transports entering the system and to attempt to fight a proxy war with us inside Lylat. They have jump portal technology, but it doesn't have the range or the stability of own."

"There's no doubt who the local mercenaries are." Jack said.

"There are several groups, not just the one you've encountered. It's not a stretch to assume..."

"They've kidnapped one of our team members." Fox interrupted.

"Fox." Jack said. "I thought we were going to talk about this later."

"Who was taken?" The Admiral asked. "Aside from Jack, I had not heard of anyone else being taken."

"She left us Admiral." Jack replied. "She wasn't part of our team at the time she was taken."

"It was Krystal, Admiral." Fox said. "She was kidnapped by Wolf and taken to a place called Thorin."

"Thorin?" Replied the Admiral. "That's a long way from Lylat. Are you sure she was taken there?"

"That's what Miri told me." Fox hesitated a moment then looked at Jack. "Before she was killed."

"Who is Krystal?"

"Krystal is a Cerinian, Admiral." Jack said.

"We're protecting the Cerinians while we try to rebuild their planet and population. We're obligated to recover every surviving member of their species to bolster their gene pool. Though given the location of this one, I'll let you decide a course of action. If you decide to go after Krystal, do so quickly and be extremely careful, Thorin is a dangerous planet made more dangerous by the armed conflict on its surface. The situation here is going to deteriorate once that ship is operational, we can't let the Cornerians fire that weapon, even for a test. The Cornerians could hit us anywhere without warning and a missile that size traveling that fast would pierce even a capital ship's shields and embed itself in the hull. Soft targets like Io station could be destroyed in a single attack."

"How long before it's ready?"

"We don't know that either. Based on what the information we have, the ship is roughly 75% complete. I think the Cornerians are taking their time to avoid attracting attention.

"I thought we were getting along with the Cornerians."

"We are." The Admiral replied. "The crew on this ship has several Cornerians and they're all over Io station now. They've integrated with our society very well and we believe it's only a matter of time before their government accepts our offer for membership in the HSF. Once that happens, we will willingly share our technology with them. They have no reason abduct people the way they have and no reason to build a weapons platform like _Saruzin_."

"Is there a chance it's not the Cornerians doing these things?" Fox asked. "I know the CDF and they would never provoke a conflict like this."

"All our sources say no." Admiral Miller replied. "But I promise you we'll keep searching for answers and take them to the Cornerian ambassador before we act. We don't want to start another war in Lylat." Fox got up from the table and began walking out of the room, he stopped at the doorway and spoke.

"Please do Admiral. Working with your people has been a great experience so far, but if a conflict starts, I'll have to defend Corneria."


	21. Chapter 21

**Part 21**

Jack rushed out of the conference room and followed Fox down the hall. Fox was walking quickly, almost breaking into a jog as he made his way back to the medical wing of the carrier and began to look for Fara. Jack stopped him just outside Fara's room.

"You were a bit rough with the Admiral, Fox."

"I don't care." Fox replied. "She's telling me they might attack Lylat and I'm just supposed to sit there and be happy about it?"

"That's not what she's saying. We want to avoid going into Lylat, but if this _Saruzin _does everything they say it's capable of, we'll have to go in there and destroy it."

"Why do you have to destroy it?" Fox yelled. "Your people can drop a whole fleet anywhere in Lylat at any time. If we're looking for a way to defend ourselves against that then we have every right to build and use it."

"That's true, but look at the nature of the weapon."

"What do you mean?" Fox asked.

"You have the same information on that ship as I do. What does it do?"

"The Admiral said it could attack anywhere and destroy a station or seriously damage a capital ship."

"Right, it's not a defensive weapon. It's meant for a surprise attack on a station. Does a station pose a threat to Lylat?"

"The ships docked in it could, but not the station itself." Fox replied.

"We have been trying to help Corneria haven't we? Look at all the materials and supplies we've sent your people. Why would we waste resources rebuilding a planet we're about to attack? It's not our intention to harm your people."

"Then why so many warships?" Fox snapped. "There's more than enough firepower out here to destroy the Cornerian Armada twice over."

"Two reasons; First, the surrounding systems are unstable and a superior show of force helps keep the peace. Second, there are threats that could come from outside the HSF, organizations like Interstellar Iridium or worse, the Species Alliance."

"The Species Alliance?"

"It's a group of alien species we've encountered in the past that don't share our views on the universe. They're led by a species called the Raanerians. They'd have to cross alot of HSF territory to get out this far but I wouldn't put it past them to send scouts if they learn we've discovered a new civilization."

"So they're a threat to the HSF?"

"We're spread too thin out here and it wouldn't take much to push us out of this region. They've got an edge in technology but we adapt our tactics too quickly for them to counter and we have a lot more combat experience. They're not much of a threat this far out, but they continue to attack our colonies in the Raanerian border region."

"Does the CDF know about them?"

"Yes, it's the reason Corneria hasn't joined the HSF, they're not too keen on attracting hostile attention if we can't protect them. The Cornerians wanted to know what's beyond Lylat, and we gave them a glimpse out there, I'm not sure they liked what they saw."

"What did your people show them?"

"The truth." Jack replied. "There is no peace in our galaxy. Your people were hoping we'd be able to help them bring stability to Lylat, and we can but the trade off is exposure to a galaxy full of war."

"That's not..." Fox paused a moment. "Reassuring."

"No, it isn't." Jack told Fox. "I wouldn't worry too much about Species Alliance, we need to concentrate on local problems now."

"Alright." Fox replied as Jack opened the door to Fara's room. Fara was sitting on the bed with her hands in her lap and her head down, she continued staring at the floor when Fox and Jack entered the room.

"Are you alright Fara?" Fox asked.

"They can't get it off." Fara replied softly. "It'll kill me."

"What?" Jack said.

"I said they can't get it off, it will KILL me." Fara repeated, the anger bubbling up in her voice.

"So how did the others get their headpieces removed?" Fox asked.

"I don't know. We'll never know, the man responsible for removing these things is DEAD." Fara said while turning her head to face Jack.

"Maybe the others didn't survive the process." Jack told Fara. "That's why they stopped removing them."

"There's no way to know now."

"Fara, we've got all the data from Dr. Waytus' computers. That includes his personal logs and journals, if there's a way to remove that thing and he knew it, we will to. Give our people some time."

"The woman who examined me, Dr. Harrington I think it was, said the pins used to anchor the headpiece to my skull are in too deep and removing could damage my brain or possibly contaminate or release the fluid surrounding it. She said there's nothing they can do, they can't even cut it off. I'm stuck with this."

"I'm sorry Fara, Dr. Harrington is one of the best we have. I've worked with her for years, if she says there's no way, I wouldn't seek a second opinion."

"I know, I'm sorry for yelling at you." Fara said. "How did the meeting with the Admiral go?"

"Not good." Fox began. "They're really worked up about that carrier the CDF is building, to the point they're thinking about destroying it before it's complete."

"The carrier is using stolen technology." Jack said. "At the very least, we need to know how the Cornerians got it and the answers are going to be on that ship in the design of the portal generator."

"So why not wait and see what they intend to do with the ship?" Fara asked. "Won't attacking that ship ruin the relationship between our people and yours?"

"I'm sure it will. If you were responsible for every life on Io station and knew it was at risk, would you eliminate the threat, or wait until the station is attacked?"

"I don't know." Fara said. "I can't answer that."

"Jack, when are we going back to Io station?" Fox asked.

"We could hop a supply ship and go there anytime. Is that where you left the _Prospect_?"

"Yes." Fox replied. "We need to get back to the ship and plot a course for Thorin, wherever it is."

"You can't just plot a course and go there." Jack said. "Thorin isn't on the standard navigation charts."

"Then we'll find a ship that's going there and follow it."

"Thorin is a in war zone Fox, no one goes there."

"If that's where Krystal is, we're going."

"Not with my ship you're not."

"You gave me command of the ship, remember? You're supposed to be healing up and staying out of combat. So we're going to Thorin as soon as possible and you're going to take us there."

"Staying out of combat means not taking my ship to a planet that's been locked in a global firefight for the last three decades. They stopped sending CSUs to clean up that hole of a planet because none of them ever came back. You can get upset at me if you want, but I'm telling you we're not going, it's suicide."

"I think we should go." Fara's calm voice broke the tension between Fox and Jack. "We could use the extra pilot, and we still don't know how the CDF got a hold of your portal technology. If we find Krystal, she may have answers, and maybe enough information to link Wolf and Interstellar Iridium to the stolen technology on _Saruzin_. We could take that to the Admiral and the CDF and maybe get everyone to back down."

"We could get that information from Wolf too, it would be much less risky, trust me."

"We don't leave our own behind. Isn't that one of the rules your people go by? Well, like it or not, Krystal is one of us. She was part of this group, and since we know where she is, we're obligated to try and recover her, right?" Jack looked at Fara in disbelief, then back to Fox who looked equally shocked.

"Fara?" Fox stood there stunned. "You really want to go after Krystal?"

"No, I still don't trust her." Fara said shaking her head. "But I can't go to the CDF without proof, so I need her. I think you need her too Fox."

"I'm sorry Fara." Fox put his head down as he spoke. "I didn't think I'd see her again."

"It doesn't matter now Fox, all that matters is stopping the HSF from attacking Lylat."

"So Jack, take us to Thorin." Fox said.

"No." Jack replied. "I can't."

"I'm not giving you an option." Fox yelled. "I'm in charge until you're healed and that was an order."

"I can't take Cornerians out of this region until your people agree to be part of the HSF. We have rules that go beyond your command."

"Then why could you take us to Dust?" Fox asked. "That wasn't anywhere near Lylat."

"True, but it was in the _Prospect's_ navigation computer, Thorin is not. Besides, we were on a mission that required us to follow the orders of Interstellar Iridium, breaking the rules was necessary."

"That is such..."

"I don't make the rules Fox. I can't take the _Prospect_ to Thorin, only ships with the navigation point in their charts can go there. It's not a place the HSF wants people visiting, and since you're Cornerians, no ship is going to take you beyond the quarantine line."

"What if we weren't Cornerians?" Fox asked. "Could a Cerinian go?"

"We're helping to rebuild their planet, technically they're part of the HSF until their leadership says otherwise. The Cerinian population is documented, even if you looked the part you can't just create two people that didn't exist before."

"I bet Norman could." Fara said. "Or at least make everything look legitimate enough to fool whatever ship we're trying to board."

"Norman." Jack thought a moment. "He was the one who attached the transmitter to your headpiece, wasn't he?"

"Yes." Fara replied. "He helped get Fox and I into that facility on MacBeth."

"That looked like his handiwork."

"You know Norman?" Fara asked.

"Of all the people I've encountered in my life, I've known Norman the longest. He is the most skilled and resourceful CSU we've ever had. If it wasn't for his current condition, I would have never met either of you, he would have been the one who contacted you."

"I'm glad it was you." Fara said with a smile. "I..."

"Let's go back to Io station and find Norman." Fox interrupted. "If this place is as dangerous as you say it is, Krystal's in trouble."

Fox walked out of the room, leaving Fara and Jack behind. He could be heard down the corridor asking a crewman when the next supply ship was departing for Io station. Jack began to walk out of the room to follow, he paused at the doorway.

"You okay with all of this?" Jack asked Fara.

"With Fox?" She replied. "Or my headpiece?"

"Both."

"We weren't very close. As for this thing." Fara tapped her finger on her headpiece. "I've gotten used to it, but I'd be lying if I said I was happy about either situation. What about you?"

"My back is sore and I have a limp from a stiff left leg that's still healing."

"I mean are you okay with what happened to Miri?"

"There was nothing I could do." Jack paused a moment and stepped back into the room. "I try to do the right thing, try to help people when I can. When things turn out like this, I start to wonder if it's worth the trouble. I am not okay with it, but I am accepting it."

"It sounds like we both need a shoulder to cry on for awhile." Fara stood up and walked toward Jack as Fox burst into the room.

"There's a ship leaving for Io station in a few minutes." Fox said. "We need to hurry or we'll miss it." Fox rushed out of the room with Fara and Jack following behind, they boarded the shuttle bound for Io station and sat down in the ship's tiny passenger compartment. There were about twenty people in the passenger compartment, mostly human and all in uniform, they stayed silent while the shuttle undocked and began its journey. Jack had drifted off to sleep with his hand holding his head upright, Fara sat between Fox and Jack and tried to do the same but Fox's constant movement made relaxing impossible.

"Would you stop that?" She scolded.

"It's too cramped in here." Fox replied. "When is this trip over?"

"Hopping around in your seat isn't going to get us there any faster."

"I'm worried, we need to find Krystal."

"You don't even know where you're going Fox and...well, you should be prepared if things don't work out the way you want them to."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean... if she's... Jack said that's a very dangerous planet and things could happen, like with Miri."

"No, Krystal's too smart for that." Fox looked at Fara and settled down in his seat, then sat silently for the remaining part of the trip. Once on Io station, Fox and Fara led Jack to the hangar where they had met Miyu and Norman who were busy as ever shuttling cargo from one ship to the other.

"Fara!" Miyu yelled, waving from a nearby catwalk. She dashed down the stairs to the hangar floor and ran over to greet the trio. "Looks like you found whoever it was you were after."

"Yes we did, thanks to Norman." Fara replied. "We need his help again, do you know where he is?"

"Norm? Yeah, he's around here somewhere." Miyu looked around the hangar. "You'd think a guy as big as he is would be easy to spot, but he can disappear for hours at a time. If I tried tracking him down every time he disappears, I'd never get any work done."

"He's behind that stack of crates to the left of conveyor." Fox said. "Look at the shadow on the floor."

"You can see out that far?" Miyu said in disbelief.

"Yeah." Fox replied.

"You wanna see me sometime?" Miyu asked with wink and a smile. "You won't have to look so far."

"Maybe later." Fox said. Miyu looked at Fox with a stunned expression before turning and breaking into a run toward the crates. She disappeared from sight, emerging a few moments later with Norman walking behind her.

"Glad to see you again Fox and Fara." Norman said. "I see you managed to get Jack out of trouble."

"It wasn't easy." Fox replied. "We almost lost a transport full of people."

"I know, I heard over the shipnet that someone had jumped out of Lylat with a Cornerian transport full of prisoners. It didn't take long to find out who that was. You were piloting the transport weren't you Fara?"

"Yes I was."

"You really made a name for yourself, that ship was one good hit away from coming apart and you just kept going. That took guts."

"Thank you Norman."

"Please, it's Norm. Good to see you too Jack, we've been keeping your ship docked and ready."

"Thanks Norm. It's good to see you too Norm, how are things?"

"We're understaffed as usual and I'm hearing rumors of a Cornerian weapon in the works that can knock this station to pieces. Other than that, I can't complain. If you don't mind me asking, what happened on MacBeth?"

"Some Cornerian scientist was taking replacement limbs off Cornerians returning to Lylat in an attempt to reverse engineer our technology, and they did some things to me I really don't want to talk about."

"They were taking limbs?" Miyu asked.

"Yes." Jack said. "We rescued a bunch of Cornerians while we were there, I doubt they'll want to go back to Lylat now."

"Guess I better stay away too." Miyu said as she pulled up the legs on her coveralls to reveal two artificial legs. "The left one goes all the way up and the right one stops at the knee. I lost them both during the first Lylat war, I was too young to remember what happened."

"So how did you get out here?" Fara asked.

"Mom and Dad brought me, Dad read something about building a better life in the space beyond Lylat and volunteered us to go. I grew up on a human ship while this station was still being built. I don't know much about life on Corneria, but I can tell you anything you want to know about a Washington class battlecruiser and the history of the HSF. I've spent my whole life out here, other than the extra hair and pointy ears, I'd say I'm as human as Norman here."

"Really?" Fara said with a smile.

"We need to get to Thorin." Fox interrupted. "Norman, I need you to help Fara and I get out of here and onto a ship bound for a planet called Thorin."

"I don't think you know what you're asking for." Norman said, dumbfounded. "Why in the name of the homeworld would you want to go there?"

"Someone very close to me was taken there. I need to get her back."

"Her? Son, there's plenty of fish in the sea and well... I've never met a fish worth dying for."

"This one is, it's my fault she's there. Will you help us or not?" Fox asked. "We've got a plan to disguise ourselves as Cerinians so we can leave the region and get on a ship to Thorin."

"I can get you on a ship, if that's what you want to do. Getting onto the planet is another matter entirely."

"We can go as a recovery team." Jack said. "It shouldn't be a problem to get down there.

"You really want to go back there?" Norman looked at Jack with a puzzled expression.

"No, but this person might have information on the Cornerian's weapon and that's enough for me to go after her."

"Alright." Norman said as he typed on a datapad briefly before handing it to Jack. "Here, take this to deck 12, office 684 and ask for Hubert, he'll get you booked. Once you're done come back and see me so we can get you the appropriate gear for the surface."

"Will do." Jack replied before walking out of the hangar.


	22. Chapter 22

**Part 22**

"So, care to elaborate on this plan of yours?" Norman asked Fox.

"Well." Fox began. "Since Cerinians can travel anywhere in HSF space and Cornerians can't, we could dress up like Cerinians and board a ship bound for Thorin. Jack tells me only certain ships can go there so I thought you could book us passage on one."

"That's true, not just any ship can go to Thorin. I can get you on a ship going there, but you're going to need a better cover than a couple of Cerinian sightseers and you're going to need more than an outfit to look the part."

"Why's that?" Fox asked. "We're virtually the same species. Other than being blue, Krystal looks identical to a Cornerian."

"The color's the problem." Norman held up his datapad, which displayed a picture of several Cerinians standing together. "Cerinians have some pretty exotic coloring, you don't."

"So, what do we do?"

"We paint you." Norman replied.

"What?"

"I've got a way to alter your color, don't worry about that. The other problem is Fara's ears, they're not right for a Cerinian and will have to be altered."

"Alter my ears?" Fara said.

"It would be temporary, we're just going to trim them down and alter the curve a bit. We can put them back the way they were as soon as you return. It's painless and because we use lasers and cellular growth accelerators, you won't have much downtime, if any."

"So you can put me back just as I was?"

"Yes." Norman told Fara. "Just as soon as you get back."

Fara thought a moment, then looked at Fox standing beside her.

"Alright, let's get started." She said.

"Excellent, I just need to clear some time in hull repair." Norman typed away on his datapad. "A single fighter bay for an hour or so should do it. Miyu?"

"Yeah?"

"I need you to go collect two packages for me from the requisitions department on deck 30, they should be ready in half an hour."

"Right." Miyu replied before taking a seat on a nearby crate..

"Miyu, it takes at least that long to get to deck 30."

"Oh, sorry Norm. I'm going now."

"Thank you." Norman said, shaking his head then turning to Fox and Fara. "Now, you both know where the medical bay is, right?"

"Yes." Fox and Fara replied in unison.

"Good, Fara you need to go there and see Dr. Browning, he'll take care of the modifications to your ears. It shouldn't take more than an hour or two. When you're done, meet us in hangar 3, it's on this level, three doors down and directly across the hall."

"I'll meet you there as soon as I'm done." Fara said before walking away.

"Fox." Norman said. "We've got some time to kill. Any questions about what we're doing?"

"What's this planet like? You seemed surprised when I asked about it."

"Thorin?" Norman thought a moment. "It's a paradise. Lush green forests as far as you can see, crystal clear water, and air so clean and pure just breathing it makes you feel years younger. The planet has almost no axial tilt so the temperature stays consistent year round and there's rarely any violent weather, the worst you'll get is the occasional flash of lightning and rumble of thunder."

"Doesn't sound bad." Fox said. "I take it you've been there?

"Yes, and I can tell you it is every bit a beautiful as you can imagine." Norman replied with a smile. "But, there's a catch."

"A catch?"

"Yeah, the planet's ecosystem is falling apart, due in no small part to a horribly evolved predator thats wiped out almost all of the ground-dwelling animal life and put a pretty good dent in the bird and insect population too. We call them bore worms, they're a rare type of carnivorous parasite roughly the size of my little finger and live in the first meter or so of soil. They attach themselves to any soft flesh that comes in contact with the soil and eat their way inside your body where they feed and reproduce."

"That's...horrible." Fox said with a shiver.

"They're fast too, they can be through your clothing and under your skin in a matter of seconds. If you fall, you'll be swarmed by them and since they are so fast, you'll never be able to pull them all off, a few will always get inside."

"So it's fatal if they get inside?"

"Can be, it really depends on where they go once they're inside. If they stay near the surface in an arm or leg, you can get them removed without too much trouble. Most often they will burrow deep into your muscle tissue to lay their eggs and cause massive internal damage and bleeding, not to mention pain. Add several of them inside you at once and dying at that point is mercy. We've got some special boots that will keep them off your feet and legs and there's a repellent that keeps them off if you do manage to fall down."

"I'm still thinking about something eating its way into my body."

"Try not to think about it, they aren't much an issue if you're prepared. We'll get you the equipment you need to keep you safe."

"By the way who's paying for all this?" Fox asked.

"This is a recovery operation, all parties involved render services for no charge or at a greatly reduced rate. It's part of the contract they sign when they agree to work on one of these stations. We take care of their basic needs, food, shelter, air and in return they provide us services whenever we need them. The HSF is good to its people and its people are good to it for the most part."

"Oh." Fox said. "What about the Raanerians?"

"Jack's the one you should be asking, I never had contact with them."

"Hey Fox, Hey Norm." A familiar voice interrupted their conversation, it was Miyu. "Here's your packages."

"I'll hang on to these until after we get you and Fara colored. Fara should be out soon, let's go over to hull repair."

Norman, Miyu, and Fox walked to the hangar Norman had reserved and went inside where Norman immediately went into a small room at the back of the hangar and began using the console there to prepare the hangar's equipment. Fox watched as several machines that were stored in the corner came to life and began moving around the hangar.

"Now." Norman began. "What we're going to do is coat you in hull paint. It's not really a paint but more like a dye that seeps into whatever it comes in contact with. It doesn't add weight like a traditional paint would and won't separate when the surface it's on shifts or flexes."

"Hey Norm." Miyu interrupted. "Fara's back." Fara walked in right behind Miyu, her ears had been shortened dramatically and now resembled Fox's. The doctors had given Fara a full head of hair to cover her headpiece, it was trimmed to cover her forehead in the front and stretched to her shoulders in the back and completely concealed the device.

"Well." Fara said with a smile. "What do you think?" Fox stood there and looked at her speechelss.

"I think it will work." Norman replied. "How was the procedure?"

"I don't remember much, they put me under and when I woke up, I looked like this. So what's next?"

"I've finished setting up the equipment, all you two need to do is pick a color from the picture here and we'll get started. Keep in mind that the color you pick will be slightly darker because of the base color of your fur." Norman held up a datapad with the pictures of several Cerinians, all were various shades of blue and wearing white sleeveless robes. They were standing shoulder to shoulder arranged lightest to darkest from left to right.

"I'll go with the one in the middle, he's close to Krystal's color." Fox told Norman.

"The darker one, second from the end I guess. It doesn't really matter." Fara said.

"You sure?" Norman asked. "You're going to be stuck with this color for a couple of weeks."

"Yeah, I'm sure. Let's just get his over with." Fara said, staring Fox.

"Thank you Fara, for doing this." Fox put his arms around her, pulled her in close, and held tightly. "I want you to know if the worst has happened, I still..."

"No." Fara pushed herself free from Fox's embrace. "I'm not going to be plan B. If we're going to do this, let's get started."

"Alright." Norman pointed out into the hangar as he spoke. "I need the two of you to disrobe and stand in the middle of then hangar there, at least two meters apart, arms straight out and palms perpendicular to the ground. You'll need to spread your legs slightly so the machine can get all the way around."

"Disrobe?" Fara asked.

"Yeah, the machine doesn't color through clothing. I'm going to warn you, the paint's a bit chilly." Norman said.

"I am not taking my clothes off and standing in the open."

"I can't make you do it. But you've come this far and it will only be for a few minutes. Besides, you don't have anything I haven't seen on the shipnet."

"Really, Norman?" Fara said in disbelief.

"Just being honest. No one's going to see anything, I'll be waiting right here with Miyu. The process is automated and when it's over your clothes will be right there."

"Alright." Fara said with a sigh. "Let's get this over with." Fox and Fara walked into the hangar and Norman shut the door behind them. After a brief look around Fox began to disrobe then glanced over at Fara, who was doing the same.

"No peaking Fox." Fara said with a slight smile. Fox looked away and walked to the middle of the hangar when he had finished undressing. Fox and Fara stood back to back in the hangar with a couple of meters between them, just as Norman had asked. The machines Fox had watched before began moving toward them while several rows of green lasers along the walls and ceiling created a grid pattern across his body.

"Just close your eyes and relax, this will only take a few minutes. Just try and hold still." Norman's voice sounded over the intercom. Seconds later Fox felt the rush of icy cold air covering his body, it was all he could do to hold still. The sound of the paint machine was deafening and Fox was having a difficult time staying focused and calm. After a few moments the noise stopped.

"All done." Norman said over the intercom. "Just sit tight for a few more minutes while the coloring soaks in. You can open your eyes now." Fox looked around the hangar, at least as much of the hangar as he could see without moving his body.

"My arms are getting tired." Fox said to Fara.

"Mine too. I hope we're dry soon."

"If the coloring isn't tacky you can get dressed and meet me in the hangar office." Norman said over the intercom. Fox patted his chest and arms, his fur was a bit stiff, but otherwise dry and completely blue down to his skin. Fox turned around to see Fara already getting dressed and he wasted no time doing the same. Fox and Fara went to meet Norman in the hangar office where he, Miyu, and Jack were waiting for them.

"Wow Fara." Miyu said. "I can barely tell it's you."

"Thanks." Fara said, looking into a mirror Norman had given her. "I can't believe the difference."

"Hey Norm, can you shoot me next?" Miyu asked. "I want to be green."

"I don't think that's a good idea." Norman replied with a smile. "You're strange enough as it is."

"That's a good look for you Fara." Fox said. The smile quickly faded from Fara's face.

"Only until we find Krystal, then things go back to normal."

"There's one more change we need to make." Jack said before handing a box to Fox and Fara. "You need to dress the part." Fox opened his box and removed the contents. Inside was a white, knee length tunic with intricate gold trim along the edges of the fabric, a pair of simple sandals, and a few other gold colored trinkets. At the bottom of the box was a picture detailing how everything was to be worn. Fara opened her box, shook her head, then promptly closed the lid.

"No." She said flatly. "Absolutely not."

"What's wrong?" Fox asked.

"I'm not wearing this, there's got to be something else."

"That's the common clothing of a Cerinian female." Norman said. "It's what all of the females we rescued from their homeworld were wearing. Fox's outfit is the same way, all the males were dressed in the same clothing he has."

"I am not traveling halfway across the galaxy in my underwear." Fara said.

"It's not halfway across the galaxy." Jack told Fara. "The trip won't take long and as soon as we get there you can change into whatever you want. We'll have to take a civilian transport ship for part of the trip and you'll need to look like you've just stepped off the Cerinian homeworld to fool the transit authority."

"What if she bought something different on the way?" Fox asked.

"She could do that too." Jack replied. "What do you think Fara?" Fara looked into the box again before slowly closing the lid with a sigh.

"Everyone out, I'm going to need a few minutes to put all this on." The group left the small room at the back of the hangar and walked outside while Fara got dressed. Fox took the opportunity to quickly change clothes in the hangar before joining up with the others to wait for Fara. After a few minutes, Fara emerged from the hangar and stood just outside the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest and shivering. Her outfit consisted of a pair of sandals identical to the ones Fox was wearing, two gold cuffs covered the lower part of her calves and were each engraved with an intricate pattern of swirling lines. A simple piece of white cloth with gold trim around the edges hung down from her waist and reached to her knees, a similar piece covered her backside. Both were fastened at the corners with circular clips and left her hips and legs exposed. Her top was of the same white fabric and covered her chest and right shoulder, but left her midsection exposed, two gold bracers on each wrist and a circlet on top of her head completed the outfit.

"I never realized how cold these stations are." Fara said.

"Well you're not exactly dressed for space travel." Jack told her.

"Shut up Jack."

"So here's your cover." Norman interrupted. "You're a Cerinian couple looking to relocate somewhere in HSF territory. You've been assigned a guide to help you, that's you Jack."

"Do we have to be a couple?" Fara asked. Fox turned his head and glared at Fara, but didn't say a word. "I mean, we've got to come back the same way right?"

"Yes, you'll return via civilian transport." Norman said. "The most important thing to remember is to be comfortable in your role. Everything you say and do must be natural, or it will arouse suspicion."

"Then how are you going to cover three Cerinians on the return trip?"

"Hmm." Norman thought a moment before typing on his datapad. "You're a Cerinian expeditionary group on a trip around HSF territory. Is that better? The entry just says group so no one will question the number of people, is that better?"

"I think that will work better." Fara replied.

"So what else do we need to know?" Fox asked.

"Like I said, you're a Cerinian expeditionary group exploring HSF territory, Jack's your guide. You're being taken on a tour as a token of goodwill toward your people, you'll be traveling on the pleasure ship _Medway_ from Io station to the Elytra system. Once you're on the orbital platform in Elytra, you'll disembark while the ship is resupplied and be free to roam around the station for a bit. Someone will approach you about 20 minutes after you've left the ship, it is very important you stay together, we have a very narrow window to contact you and get you on a shuttle to Thorin before the _Medway's_ crew notices you're gone."

"Seems simple enough." Fox said. "When do we leave?"

"The shuttle is ready when you are." Norman told Fox. "It will take you a couple of systems over where you'll board the _Medway_."

"Are you ready?" Fox turned and asked Fara and Jack, who nodded in reply. "Then let's go."

"Hey Fara." Miyu yelled. "When you get back can I borrow that outfit? I want to get into some trouble on the lower decks if you know what I mean."

"It's all yours." Fara replied with a laugh.


	23. Chapter 23

**Part 23**

Fox, Fara, and Jack made their way to the shuttle bay and found the ship that would take them to the _Medway._ The shuttle was similar in size to the one the group had taken from the _Ardennes_ to Io station, although the passengers on this trip were cheerful and chatting among themselves. Though there were no other Cornerians on the shuttle, no one paid attention to Fox and Fara, who were seated near the rear of the passenger compartment with Jack sitting between them.

"Hey Jack."

"Yeah Fox"

"You said the ship that's taking us to Thorin is a pleasure ship. What's a pleasure ship?"

"Amusement ship would be a more accurate." Jack told Fox. "They help HSF personnel relieve stress without the need to waste resources building a dedicated facility on site. The ships tour anywhere HSF personnel are stationed and offer a variety of activities simulated beaches, dancing, and gambling to recreational drugs and prostitution. Since they travel all over HSF territory they're sometimes used as transport ships for people with special requirements. In our case, we're giving you a tour of HSF space and the amenities are much nicer on board a pleasure ship."

"Oh." Fox said. "How long is this trip going to take? Krystal's in trouble and we need to get there as quickly as possible."

"The ship won't go to Thorin, we'll slip off at a nearby station in Elytra when the_ Medway_ docks to resupply and one of our people will take us from there. I'd expect the trip to take at least two days, maybe three."

"Three days?" Fox yelled. One of the passengers across the aisle began glancing over. "Krystal doesn't have three days Jack!"

"Calm down, you're attracting attention." Jack said in a hushed voice. "We're taking a big chance taking you and Fara out of the region, be thankful we were able to get you on a ship at all. A traditional transport wouldn't get you there any faster, given the distance we have to travel, three days is a miracle."

"He's right Fox." Fara looked at Fox from over Jack's shoulder. "Without Norman and Jack's help, we would have never found Krystal, let alone be able to reach her."

"I'm sorry." Fox said. "It's just, I'm worried about Krystal, we need to get there before something terrible happens."

"We'll get there." Jack told Fox. "But for this to work, everyone needs to play their part until we get to Elytra. That means acting like we're having a good time and not in a hurry to get somewhere."

"Alright." Fox said as he held his head down. "I'll try to keep calm."

The remaining hour of the trip to the _Medway _was uneventful with Fox, Fara, and Jack remaining largely silent until the shuttle reached the _Medway. _Fara looked out the window at the ship, unlike the utilitarian gray and brown ships she'd seen before, the _Medway_ was brightly lit from end to end with lights of all colors and the ship's hull was decorated with multi colored lines that ran the length of the ship. Dozens of smaller shuttles and personal craft circled the ship, which was roughly the length of the _Prospect_ but nearly triple the height. When their shuttle had finally docked with the _Medway_, the trio were among the last to exit and were greeted by a slender man in a dark colored suit who approached Jack and introduced himself.

"I'm Jordan Everitt." The man said. "I'm the manager of activities here on _Medway_. I take it you're the Cerinians?"

"That's correct Mr. Everitt." Jack reached out and shook hands with the manager. "I'm Jack Roberts and these two are Fox and Fara. They're special guests of Admiral Miller."

"I see." Mr. Everitt said as he bowed to Fox and Fara. "It's an honor to have you on board my ship."

"Thank you." Fara said with a smile. "It's beautiful. I've never seen anything like it."

"We are the highest rated pleasure ship in the fleet two years running." Mr. Everitt replied. "You'll have a great time here, I'm sure of it. I have a ton of work to do so I must take my leave. When you get settled in your cabin feel free to take in some of the sights. We've got a little bit of everything here and the shops on B deck are open for the duration of the voyage, your first purchase is compliments of the ship and crew."

"Thank you, Mr. Everitt." Jack said as the manager turned and rushed off to a nearby doorway, entered a code on the keypad beside it, and disappeared.

"One, Three, Three, Five, Seven, Six." Jack said. "Someone should have shown him how to block line of sight while entering a pass code."

"Did you really need to watch him like that?" Fox asked.

"You never know Fox. He was general manager of the ship, I imagine his pass code can get me anywhere I might want to go."

"If you say so." Fox replied. Their conversation was interrupted by a woman in a colorful dress who approached and introduced herself.

"Hello there." She said. "My name's Janet and I've been assigned to be your guide and advisor while you're on board. If you need anything at all or have any questions just ask."

"How long will it take us to get to Elytra?" Fox asked.

"Oh, I'm not really sure." Janet replied. "We're scheduled to resupply there in a few days but there really isn't a hard timetable for the systems we visit. Why do you ask?"

"Could you take us to our room?" Jack interrupted. "These two have had a long trip and we'll have plenty of time for questions after we get settled." Janet paused a moment then gestured for the trio to follow her, Fara walked right behind with Fox and Jack walking side by side behind her. She heard Jack telling Fox to stay quiet until they were in their room.

"I've got to tell you." Janet said to Fara. "I love your coloring. You're so pretty."

"Thank you." Fara said nervously. Janet led them to an elevator that took them to one of the upper decks of the ship. Fara looked around as she walked down the well decorated hallway, it was carpeted and decorated from ceiling to floor, she found herself forgetting she was on a spaceship and forgetting why she was here. When they reached the room, Janet gave them each a small datapad with the room number on the back side.

"To open the door, just place the back of the datapad on this panel here and you're in. It's bound to your palm print so no one can get into your room, even if they have your datapad." She said to the others. "The datapad has information on all the activities we have on board, but if you want a more personal touch, just call me and I'll take you wherever you'd like to go."

"Thank you, Ms. Janet." Jack said. Fox and Fara stepped into the room while Jack talked with Janet for a few minutes before entering. The room was larger than the ones on the Prospect and contained an extra area which held a small table, two reclining chairs, and a sofa.

"Hey, Jack." Fara yelled from deeper in the room. "We've got a problem." Jack rushed to meet Fara and Fox, who were standing in the bedroom.

"What's wrong?"

"There's only two beds." Fox said. "Didn't they know there were three of us?"

"It's fine. Most of these cabins are set up for two pairs of guests." Jack said as he opened the nearby cabinet and pulled out a spare pillow and blanket. He tossed the blanket onto the sofa and propped the pillow up on the armrest. "I prefer to be where I can see the door."

"Are you sure?" Fara asked.

"I'll be fine. I have something I need to do." Jack replied. "You two should take some time and explore the ship. This isn't something you get to see every day."

"I do want a change of clothes." Fara said. "What about you Fox?"

"I'm going to stay here for a bit, if that's alright with you."

"Okay." Fara said with a smile. "But you're going to miss all the fun."

After Fara and Jack left the room Fox laid down in one of the beds and wrapped himself in the sheets. He had been trying to clear his head for several days but was unable to shake the images of Krystal that flooded his mind. He had seen her starving, lonely, and injured but the worst was the image of her lifeless body laying on the floor of some old ruin, covered in dirt, eyes staring blankly into the distance. That image repeated over and over in his mind, he'd struggle to stay focused during the day and fight to get to sleep at night every time that horrible image crept into his mind. This time, it didn't bother him, he knew she was fine and he was going to find her and bring her back. Suddenly, Krystal's body looked up at him and began calling his name. Fox slowly slipped out of his dream to Fara rocking him gently and saying his name.

"Fox. Fox." She said.

"Krystal? What are you doing here?"

"It's me Fox. It's Fara."

"Fara?" Fox said. "What happened to Krystal?"

"She was never here. You were tossing around, that must have been some dream you were having."

"I saw Krystal, she was lying on the ground. I think she was hurt or worse." Fox began to look at his surroundings, then back to Fara. "What happened to your disguise?"

"I decided to embrace human culture." Fara replied with a smile. "Custom made just for me, what do you think?" Fara held her arms out and spun around giving Fox a clear view of her new outfit, a white colored jacket with short sleeves and golden trim around the edges. It was made from a material that looked polished and rigid but upon touching it felt light and pliable. Fara had it buttoned halfway up revealing her top of her Cerinian outfit beneath. She had replaced her sandals loincloth with a pair of snug fitting dark red trousers and black boots like those worn by the HSF crews.

"Looks good Fara." Fox said after admiring her. "Maybe I should look into a change of clothes."

"Have you seen Jack?" Fara asked. "I haven't seen him since we opened the room."

"I've been asleep since you two left. I thought you went off together."

"No, he was gone by the time I got out into the hall." Fara said shaking her head. "I'm sure he'll turn up later, we've all got to come back here to sleep right? Let's get you a change of clothes, you've got to see some of the things they have on this ship."

Fara led Fox out the door and into the elevator at the the end of the hall, she didn't say a word as she selected a floor and stepped back into one corner before looking at Fox with a big smile. Fox noticed a change in Fara since they boarded, she carried herself with a confidence he hadn't seen before.

"Looks like you're having a good time." He said to Fara.

"Yeah, I guess I am. It's hard to describe, but I can be myself this way." Fara paused a moment. "That doesn't bother you does it?"

"No. I like the new you." Fox said as he held out his hand, Fara looked at it for a moment before placing her palm against his.

"This is the real me Fox." Fara said as she and Fox stepped out of the elevator and into the _Medway's_ retail deck. "As strange as it sounds I feel I can be myself when I'm posing as someone else. I spent so much time trying to get you to join the CDF we never really got to know one another. I tried to play the cool confident fleet pilot because I wanted to show you how professional we were and how you'd fit in with us. Now that I think about it, the whole thing was silly."

"Fara, the CDF wanted me to stay freelance. I could get into places and be involved in things they never could, I helped them by staying out and acting on orders they gave me as a hired pilot."

"I never knew, I thought you didn't want to be part of the CDF."

"I was part of the CDF, just not in writing." Fox and Fara walked along the retail deck, gazing at the mannequins and images of humans dressed in various types of clothing. A single shop caught Fox's attention and he walked over and studied the image outside.

"It's you." Fara said. "It says this is an outfit worn by pilots during the early days of human aviation, before supersonic aircraft and high altitudes required flight suits. They'll put the logo of your choice on the back." Fara looked back to find Fox had already gone inside, she decided to sit down on a nearby and wait. The humans didn't seem to mind her being there, they sometimes glanced over as they walked by but their expressions were more of curiosity than contempt.

"Well, what do you think?" Fox's voice interrupted her thoughts. He was standing almost right beside her wearing a brown colored jacket with a plain white shirt underneath and a pair of blue trousers.

"You look like a walking antique." Fara said with a chuckle. "But it works for you, I will say that." Fox smiled shook his head as he reached for Fara's hand. She eagerly obliged and the two went back to the room where Jack was waiting for them.

"Been shopping I see?" He said as they entered the room.

"Fara's idea." Fox replied. "She..."

"Got tired of walking around looking like a...um..." Fara interrupted.

"A Cerinian stripper?" Jack.

"Yes." Fara said with a smile. "Exactly. Where have you been?"

"Taking in some R&R in one of the simulation rooms. I did a bit of shopping myself, these were hard to find." Jack pointed to a clear glass box sitting on the table, it was roughly the size of a shoe box with a red lid nearly as tall as the box itself. The box appeared to be half full of dirt with a few rocks on top for decoration. The lid was labeled with all manner of warnings and a small hatch that was opened with a switch on the side of the lid next to a small compartment door.

"What is that?" Fox asked.

"Watch." Jack replied with a grin. He opened a panel on the back side of the box and pulled out a small chunk of meat., he placed the small chunk of meat on top of the hatch and flipped the switch on the side. The box let out a shrill alarm before the hatch on top opened and the meat dropped inside, there was a brief pause then a hiss before the meat dropped into the box. The instant the meat touched the surface of the dirt two white worms wriggled from below, tore into the meat with frightening speed, and devoured the chunk before burrowing back underground.

"Bore worms?" Fox asked. "Aren't they a bit dangerous to keep as pets?

"Very dangerous." Jack said. "They're sealed in this pressurized box and can't escape, if they do, they'll decompress and die instantly. I thought I'd show you a bit of what to expect when we get to Thorin."

"Those things are from the planet we're going to?" Fara said, still in shock from what she saw.

"They are just about the only form of wildlife on the surface of the planet, they've killed off everything else."

"Why didn't either of you mention we were going to a planet full of flesh eating worms?" Fara yelled at Fox and Jack. "It really would have impacted my decision to go."

"They aren't an issue if you're prepared, and we will be." Jack tried to calm Fara as he spoke. "If you stay up, keep your boots on, and use the repellent, you'll be fine."

"If you say so. I think I should have been told though."

"Agreed, it must have slipped my mind. I was too concerned with our cover and should have briefed you like I did Fox. I'm sorry, it won't happen again."

"It's not a big deal Jack, don't worry about it." Fara replied. "If Fox knew, he could have told me too."

"It is a big deal, that's how lives are lost."

"It's okay, really." Fara was interrupted by the beeping of her datapad, Fox and Jack noticed theirs were beeping too.

"I have a message." Fox said as he played the recording.

"Greetings patron, on behalf of the captain and crew of the _Medway_ you are invited to take in the awe and majesty of Magnus 4 in the forward observation room, a complimentary 5 course meal will be provided. Say you heard the advertisement on your datapad and get a free dessert. Don't hesitate, secure your table within the next half hour as seating is limited."

"Hungry?" Jack asked. "The food here is some of the best in HSF territory."

"I'll go." Fara said.

"Might as well, it will help us kill some time." Said Fox.

"I'll get us a table." Jack entered their information into his datapad. "Dinner's in about an hour, the menu is on your datapad so you can order your food ahead of time, it will be there when you get to your table. The menu offers a variety of dishes from different species and tailors it to your species. If you see a dish highlighted in red, don't order it, green is safe, and yellow is safe but with side effects."

"Side effects?" Asked Fox.

"Could be upset stomach, could be allergic reaction. It's best to avoid the yellows unless you know how it's going to affect you."

"Oh."

"Let's get going, we can see some more of the ship while we wait." Fara said. Jack and Fox nodded and the trio went about exploring the ship once again.


	24. Chapter 24

**Part 24**

Fox, Fara, and Jack walked the decks of the _Medway,_ taking in the sights of the ship as Jack rambled on about the glories of the HSF. Their conversation was interrupted by a human walking toward them and calling for Jack. He was dressed in casual civilian clothing with the HSF logo on the front of his shirt and was flanked by several younger humans dressed the same.

"Jack? Is that you? Jack Roberts." The man said while Jack turned to face him. "I'll be damned, it is you. It's me Taylor Webb, we went to junior academy together."

"I remember you." Jack said coldly. "How have you been?"

"Better than you as always. Just got back from an assignment on Tos'Hadar, ever heard of it?"

"Can't say that I have." Jack replied. "There are too many conflicts to keep track of these days."

"Not on Tos'Hadar. They need help repopulating after some kind of natural disaster or virus or something killed off a bunch of people. We were asked to volunteer and taken to the planet for one hundred eighty days of hard labor. They wanted to do things the old fashioned way if you know what I mean. They're like us, just with some crazy skin colors, so it worked out well."

"So you helped expand their gene pool?" Jack said. "I fear for that planet's future."

"I served proudly. By the way, I'll need you to salute and stand at attention. You can call me Captain Webb now." Taylor replied smugly. "I see you've found your place. It looks like you're on escort duty."

"Fox and Fara are Cerinians, their home world was rendered uninhabitable by an asteroid impact, very few of them survived. I'm taking them on a tour of HSF space so they can evaluate our society and possibly integrate."

"So it's escort duty." Taylor said with a chuckle.

"More or less, but like all jobs, it needs done. It's odd you're not in uniform, Captain." Taylor looked at Jack for a moment then turned his attention to Fara and Fox.

"You two having a good time?"

"Yes, we are." Fara replied.

"That's good to hear. Let me tell you a bit about your tour guide here, it will help give you some perspective where you stand with the HSF. You see the HSF doesn't think your people are important, so they sent you out with a junior academy reject that couldn't pass his first evaluation."

"We've been traveling with Jack for quite some time." Fox told Taylor. "He's proven more than capable time and time again."

"You have no idea what you're talking about Taylor." Jack interrupted. "I recommend leaving the past where it belongs."

"That's Captain to you. Did you ever make rank Jack, or did you quit after they hauled you out of the academy?"

"I made Ensign." Jack said while standing at attention. "I was taken elsewhere and trained."

"Ensign huh, so I'm 5 ranks above you then. Care to follow some orders? I'd like to show these young cadets behind me some of the advanced combat moves they teach us in training. You're going to help me demonstrate these moves."

"I'm on an assignment already and you're not in uniform, I'm afraid I'll have to decline." Taylor looked at Jack with disgust as he finished speaking and turned back toward Fox and Fara. Taylor then attempted to continue the conversation as if Jack had agreed.

"The type one take down is a combat move used to subdue an opponent before they have the opportunity to counter, it is best used from behind on an unsuspecting opponent. You begin with a basic take down, like so.." Taylor grabbed Jack from behind with his arm and kicked his feet out from underneath him before releasing and shoving Jack to the floor face first. Jack caught himself before his face hit the ground and rolled onto his back as Taylor lunged forward and pinned him down.

"If your opponent continues to struggle you may need to apply additional corrective measures until they submit." Taylor struck Jack in the face several times before returning to his feet and facing the group of cadets.

"Any questions?" He said with a smile.

"Care to try that again?" Jack said as he struggled to his feet. The left side of his face was swollen and red. "Maybe the cadets would like to know the vulnerabilities of using a _basic_ combat move on a trained opponent."

"Sure." Taylor replied. "Just get me a trained opponent." Jack turned around and motioned for Taylor to attack him again. Taylor looked back at the cadets who stood silently behind him. He approached Jack and reached for his neck once again, Jack quickly jammed his right elbow into Taylor's stomach then did the same with the left. Winded, Taylor staggered back as Jack turned around and grabbed Taylor before raising his leg and slamming Taylor's head into his knee. Taylor dropped to the floor howling between labored breaths, his hands covering his face. Jack looked up at the stunned group of cadets and the small crowd that had gathered nearby.

"The type one take down leaves you open to several simple counters, a quick jab with your elbow can stagger your attacker and quickly gain you the upper hand. In combat, you are limited to the number of actions you can take before your opponent strikes, every movement needs to have purpose, either to stun or to subdue. They don't teach you that in basic, but they do in CS."

"Wait." One of the cadets said. "You're Core Strike? Why did you let him hit you?"

"Yes." Jack replied. "I wanted to see how far he was willing to go to impress you. If he stopped at the take down, nothing would have happened."

"Why didn't you tell him you were CS?"

"He already thought I was a dropout, if I told him the truth he would not have believed me. I didn't fail junior academy, I was hand picked for CS training and taken out for that purpose. CS don't carry any indicators of our training or a normal rank, we are assigned one and answer only to the highest ranking officer in whatever region we're in."

"I'm sorry for the disturbance sir." The cadet stood at attention and saluted with the others following right after.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, you didn't know. Besides, none of us are in uniform and we're all here to have a good time. So pick up your officer and go have a good time."

"Yes sir." The cadets said in unison before helping Taylor to his feet. The group walked away from Fox, Fara, and Jack with Taylor repeatedly glancing over his shoulder as they went out of sight.

"Sorry you had to see that." Jack said to Fox and Fara. As they walked toward the elevator at the far end of the retail deck and stepped inside. "It's getting near dinnertime, we should go to the upper deck and find a table."

"I'm glad you got back up." Fara said. "I wasn't going to let him hit you again."

"Neither was I." Jack said. "He's got one hell of a punch."

"You said if he stopped at the take down, nothing would have happened. What did you mean?" Fox asked.

"By hitting me, he broke one of the most basic rules of sparring, don't attack without purpose. After that, I'm allowed to retaliate in whatever way I see fit, short of killing him or dealing serious injury. They all learned a lesson."

The elevator doors opened, revealing a small lobby with several elevators along each wall and a staircase at each end of the room that led up to the _Medway's_ main dining room. The staircases came up in the middle of the dining room, a large open space nearly one hundred meters across and double that in length, it took up most of the ship's upper deck. Hundreds of tables were arranged around the inner parts of the room with rows of private booths along the walls, a huge panoramic window covered much of the ceiling and upper half of the walls, revealing the darkness of space and thousands of tiny stars. Servers, some mechanical, some human and alien rushed from doors situated at the corners of the room bringing food and drink to the tables. Jack led the trio to a booth along one of the walls and took a seat, Fox sat across, and Fara sat beside.

"Sit on the other side." Jack told Fara. "You're traveling together." Fara shrugged her shoulders and moved over beside Fox.

"I thought you said our food would be here." Fox said.

"It should, they must be running behind. This place is packed."

"Ladies and gentlemen." An announcer's voice over the intercom interrupted their conversation. "We'll be rotating the ship to give you a view of Magnus IV. Enjoy the view and thank you for visiting with us on the_ Medway_."

With the interior lighting dimmed, the ship slowly rotated until the gas giant Magnus IV filled the windows above. The planet bathed the entire room in a swirling mix of reds, pinks, and violets back lit by the frequent flashes of lightning from the massive storms that endlessly raged below the thick layers of clouds.

"Wow." Fara said. "I've never seen a planet glow like that."

"Magnus IV is a brown dwarf, a star that didn't have the mass or intensity to fully develop." Jack told Fox. "Those types of planets aren't uncommon but Magnus's color makes it one of a kind."

"It's beautiful." Fara said. "I'm glad I had the opportunity to see it."

"Pardon." A raspy voice interrupted their conversation. "You food is here." Fox looked up to see a Kelden holding a tray with several plates of food. She quickly placed the plates on the table one by one and struggled to speak between labored breaths.

"Will there be anything else?" She asked.

"Drinks please." Jack said as the Kelden rushed off toward a corner of the room and disappeared into the doorway there.

"A Kelden, here?" Fox said as he looked at Jack. "She looked exhausted."

"She was." Answered Jack. "She's out of place. Kelden don't do this kind of work, they can't handle all the running."

"Think she's up to something?" Fara asked.

"She's watching us for someone. When she comes back we'll see what she knows."

"Will she tell us?" Fox asked.

"A Kelden won't lie, not to a human anyway, they have too much respect for us. Being nice to them helps as well. Sadly, they aren't used to being treated as equals." Jack said. "She might deflect the question or simply not answer, but they will never lie." A short time later, the Kelden returned with several glasses of water, she placed each on the table with a shaking hand then stood beside and spoke.

"Will there be anything else?"

"You look tired." Fox said.

"Yes." The Kelden replied. "I am tired. I was told I would be waiting. There is too much running to be waiting."

"Would you like to sit with us?" Fara asked.

"It is not allowed. My master would be disappointed with me."

"You are welcome to sit here with us as our guest. If your master takes issue with it, he can talk to me. You will not be punished." Jack stood up, put his arms around the Kelden, and held her for a moment before sitting back down. The Kleden recognized the gesture and glanced around the room before taking a seat beside Jack.

"Help yourself to anything at the table." Jack told the Kelden. "You're our guest here."

"Please, eat with us." Fara said.

"I will get into much trouble for this." The Kelden replied as she began to pick pieces of food from each plate on the table and placed them on a plate in front of her.

"What brings you to the Medway Miss... I don't believe I caught your name." Jack said to the Kelden.

"Deetra." The Kelden replied. "I am here for work."

"What kind of work do you do?" Jack said.

"I wait." Deetra replied.

"What are you waiting for?"

"Nothing." Deetra replied, clearly dodging the question.

"Maybe it's not what, maybe it's who." Jack said. Deetra looked up from her plate, turned to face Jack, and gave him a smile revealing her tiny razor sharp teeth. She leaned toward him nearly touching her face to his and spoke in a soft but very stern tone.

"I know what you are trying to do. It will not work on me." Deetra said to Jack. Jack looked at Deetra with a stunned expression.

"Imagine that, a Kelden with a backbone. Now I've seen everything."

"I thank you for your kindness." Deetra said to the group. "But I cannot sit here any longer."

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice." Jack said grabbing Deetra's hand and pulling her toward him. "One hand on you, the other is on a weapon pointed at you. Do you understand?"

"Yes." Deetra replied, her voice quivering.

"I don't want to do things this way, but the people you are working for mean to do us harm. I need to know what you were told to do and who told you to do it. Tell me what I need to know and you can walk away from here."

"They will kill me." Deetra said, her voice strained and raspy. "I didn't know you would hurt me. Please let me go, I don't want to do this anymore."

"Answer me." Jack said, jerking Deetra toward him. The Kelden's entire body was shaking violently and she could barely speak.

"Tell them when you are here, tell them you are eating, get out of the dining room before dinner ends. That's all I know, please let me go now!"

"Who were you to tell?"

"Everitt. I tell Everitt these things. Please let Deetra go now!" Jack pushed Deetra away then turned to Fox and Fara.

"We need to get out of here. Now! Run for the stairs!" Jack yelled to Fox and Fara as the room filled with the sound of breaking dishes and screams. The temperature in the room began rising rapidly as the glass panels overhead distorted and glowed. Jack grabbed Deetra and ran behind Fox and Fara, who were making their way through the panicked crowd by jumping from tabletop to tabletop, eventually reaching the railing around the stairwell. Fox helped Fara down then climbed over himself with Jack right behind carrying Deetra who was barely conscious from the excessive heat. They ran down to the elevators with a crowd of guests as a panel extended over the stairwell and sealed the dining room. The sound of screams, shattering glass, and a rush of air followed shortly after.

"What the hell just happened." One guest said, gasping for breath in the stuffy confines of the elevator lobby.

"I don't know, it just started getting hot, then everyone panicked." Said another. Fox and Fara climbed into one of the elevators with Jack, still carrying Deetra following after.

"Jack, what happened back there?" Fox asked.

"They cut the ship's shields." Jack said. "The shields kept the heat and radiation of Magnus IV from heating the ship when it's orbiting close. When they failed, the heat from Magnus melted the glass and exposed the dining room to open space."

"So everyone that was trapped in there when glass shattered was pulled into space?" Fara said.

"No." Jack replied. "There's not enough pressure to create that much suction. They would have been incinerated."

"If the shields are down why isn't it still getting hot?" Fox asked.

"Every HSF ship is equipped with an emergency shield that triggers in the event of a hull breech. By now the ship's hull has absorbed most of the heat and the crew will have moved the ship away from Magnus."

"So what are you going to do with her?" Fara said, pointing to the now unconscious Deetra.

"I haven't decided yet." Jack replied.


	25. Chapter 25

**Part 25**

The cries of the panicked passengers greeted Fox, Fara, and Jack as they stepped out of the elevator. The ship's crew scrambled from person to person, treating injuries and reassuring the passengers that there would be no further issues. One of the crewmen approached the group, pale and visibly shaken the young man spoke.

"I'm officer Thomas, do you have any injuries to report?"

"No." Jack replied.

"What about her?" Thomas said, pointing to Deetra.

"A server from the dining room. We were able to escape before the glass broke, she passed out when it started to get hot. Your ship was sabotaged Mr. Thomas and I think this individual knows who's responsible."

"A security camera in engineering caught two individuals cutting the ship's shield array."

"And you didn't try and stop them?" Fox said in disbelief.

"Our security team was busy elsewhere."

"Team?" Fara said. "As in one security team?"

"Yes. We don't have security issues on this or any other pleasure ship, so we don't have a large security staff. It simply isn't necessary"

"It was today." Fox said. "A bunch of innocent people died because security was spread too thin."

"I agree." Officer Thomas replied. "Off the record, I think it's a joke they don't have more security staff. Something like this was going to happen, we're fortunate it didn't destroy the ship or cause more casualties than it did. It's tragic to think like that I know, but still..."

"So who are they?" Jack interrupted. "The two you caught in engineering? Who are they working for?"

"I'm not authorized to discuss that with passengers."

"Here." Jack handed a small item to the officer, "Think we can discuss this now?"

"OK, I'll tell you what I know. We need to do this away from the other passengers though." Officer Thomas led Jack and the others to a small room nearby.

"I said away from the other passengers." Thomas said, pointing at Fara and Fox.

"They're with me." Jack told him. "They can hear whatever I can hear. I'm keeping the Kelden until I have a chance to talk with her."

"Fine, here goes," Officer Thomas began. "We had some reports of F-PAD operating in our last port of call, we followed standard procedure and swept the ship, but didn't turn up anything or anyone unusual in our search. We can't really go cabin to cabin without making the other passengers suspicious so we mainly watch the important parts of the ship."

"Like engineering." Fox said.

"I already said we were understaffed." Officer Thomas replied, clearly agitated. "After the shields went down the two suspects left the ship in one of the emergency escape capsules."

"Did anyone attempt to follow them?" Jack asked.

"No, we were too busy trying to scoop bodies out of space and keep people on the ship from panicking."

"So you have no idea where they went?"

"None, we scanned the area around the ship several times, they disappeared after they left the ship. The escape capsule is designed to propel itself 50 to 60km away from the ship then hold position until help arrives, it's not built for any kind of space flight."

"Could someone have tampered with that capsule?" Fara asked. "Is there a way to hide it from your sensors?"

"It's possible I guess." Thomas replied. "It would defeat the purpose of the capsule though, they're designed to have a very distinctive signature so other ships can find them easily among the debris of a wreck. I can have security look over the surveillance recordings of that escape capsule and see if anyone tampered with it in the last few days. It would take someone with security clearance to be able to get inside, they're locked down unless there's an emergency."

"So they had help from a member of the crew." Fara said. "Who's F-PAD?"

"Foundation to Protect Alien Dignity." Jack told her. "They're an organization that believes humans shouldn't have taken to space until we learned to live together in peace on the homeworld. They see the HSF as a threat to every species we come in contact with and our presence in space an insult to the 'noble' aliens that have colonized other worlds. Most of them just stage protests and file petitions in an attempt to get the HSF to relocate back to Earth. There are a few that attempt to keep humans out of space by making it so dangerous people are afraid to travel they attack ships, sabotage civilian transports, and murder pilots and passengers."

"They're a threat to every civilian ship." Officer Thomas interrupted. "We're constantly finding and disarming explosive devices their people leave behind. Most aren't large or sophisticated enough to do any damage, but people tend to panic when you mention a bomb on the ship."

"What about energy signatures, or thruster trails?" Jack said. "Have your people tried to scan for those?"

"This is a civilian ship, most of the crew on the bridge don't know what half the equipment does and will likely go their entire careers without ever using any of it."

"You've got to be kidding..." Jack said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Now what's your story." Officer Thomas interrupted before turning to Fara and Fox. "Two members of a recently discovered species that had their homeworld rendered uninhabitable are running around on a pleasure ship with a CSU."

"I don't think you need to know..." Jack replied before Fox interrupted.

"One of our own was taken to Thorin, we're going to get her back."

"Thorin." Officer Thomas looked dumbfounded. "Sorry I asked, my condolences."

"What do you know about Jordan Everitt?" Jack asked.

"I haven't seen Mr. Everitt since the incident." Thomas replied. "He's usually with the passengers whenever there's an incident. This is more serious than a passenger complaint though."

"I have reason to believe he's involved."

"Everitt? A member of F-PAD?" Thomas shook his head. "There's no way."

"When we were in the dining hall, right before the shields when down, this Kelden told me Mr. Everitt wanted us there and she was to report to him when we were seated and to be out of the room before dinner ended."

"I guess anything's possible nowadays, it's really a shame if Mr. Everitt is involved, he put his heart and soul into running this ship. Maybe it would be best if you all went back to your cabin with that Kelden and waited for me." Thomas told the group. "I'm going to get security and see if we can find Mr. Everitt, then we'll get this sorted out."

Fox, Fara and Jack went back to their room as Officer Thomas instructed. The usually busy areas of the ship were nearly deserted with only a few small groups of passengers scattered around talking quietly among themselves, most of the shops had closed or were empty, and many of the ships entertainment venues were deserted. Deetra regained consciousness shortly after the group returned to their room and immediately tried to escape before being subdued by Fox and Jack, she refused to speak and simply sat in a corner of the room glaring at the others. Fox and Fara passed the time browsing the shipnet while Jack watched Deetra, the silence was broken by a familiar voice coming from the room's intercom.

"Hello?" It was Officer Thomas. "Is anyone there."

"I'm here." Jack answered.

"Oh good, I need you to being that Kelden up to the bridge, I've got a couple of people that want to speak with her."

"Alright, we'll be right up."

"Just you and the Kelden, they insist."

"Will you two be alright here until I get back?"

"We'll be fine Jack." Fara replied.

"Deetra will not go." The Kelden said. "You cannot force me."

"It's not really an option at this point." Jack told her. The Kelden stood up and prepared to lunge at Jack, her clawed hands open and shaking slightly. "Deetra, we're going. Please don't make this more difficult than it needs to be."

"Everitt said Deetra will be free. All Deetra wants is to be free."

"You are free, whatever authority Mr. Everitt had over you is gone, he's done something very bad and is going to pay for it. You're not in any trouble as long as you don't attack anyone. Mr. Everitt left you to die in that dining room with everyone else, we picked you up and got you out of there. You have a chance to be free now."

"Deetra wants to go home." The Kelden began to relax. "Can you help me go home?"

"If you help us find the people responsible for what happened on this ship, I will make sure you get back home."

"Than Deetra is your servant now, Deetra is not free."

"No, all I'm asking for is a bit of help, the outcome is the same whether you help or not. If you help us though, we can complete our investigation and you can get back to your homeworld much sooner. The decision is yours, do you want to stay here longer or come with me, help and go home sooner?"

"Deetra will come." She said as she held out her hand. "Please don't hurt Deetra's trust."

"I'm not going to hold onto you." Jack said as he opened the door. "I trust you, so please trust me."

Deetra nodded and slowly followed Jack out the door, Jack turned and looked inside the room briefly, Fox and Fara were still seated at the small table inside.

"I'll be back soon, this shouldn't take long once Deetra tells her side of the story."

"Be careful Jack." Fara said as the door closed, she turned back to Fox who still had a small pistol in his hand. She didn't remember him picking one up.

"What were you going to do?" Fara asked.

"If she lunged at Jack, I was going to shoot." Fox replied. "Why didn't you have a weapon ready when she stood up?"

"We needed her." Fara replied. "I was going to try and help Jack if she attacked. I didn't want to kill her though. How are you holding up with everything that's happened?"

"I'm fine." Fox told Fara. "I just stay focused on finding Krystal. I've been reading about the planet we're going to, the humans have been there for a very long time, no wonder they don't want to give it up."

"Isn't it a terrible place though? Anyone we mention it to seems to really dislike it."

"Like Jack said, it's a paradise." Fox replied. "The weather is mild and rarely severe, the planet is covered with thick forest..."

"And flesh eating worms." Fara interrupted.

"The humans have some very detailed guides on how to deal with them. I don't think they are the big problem people make them out to be as long as you're prepared. Jack says we'll be prepared when we get there."

"Jack's been a big help through all of this." Fara said. "Have you known him very long?"

"No. Krystal brought me out to his ship just a few days before I brought you there. I'd say she knows more about him than I do. What did you ask?"

"No reason really." Fara said as she looked away from Fox. "We're running around together and yet, we know so little about eachother."

"Fara." Fox looked at her with a slight smile. "I've seen that look before. You've got more than a passing interest, don't you?"

"No." Fara said.

"Fara, I see you watching everything he does. It's fine, really."

"Fox." Fara stood up and began to walk away. "I'm a Cornerian, and well, he isn't."


End file.
